Author

Casey Quinlan

Casey Quinlan

Casey Quinlan is an economy reporter for States Newsroom, based in Washington D.C. For the past decade, they have reported on national politics and state politics, LGBTQ rights, abortion access, labor issues, education, Supreme Court news and more for publications including The American Independent, ThinkProgress, New Republic, Rewire News, SCOTUSblog, In These Times and Vox.

DEARBORN, MI - SEPTEMBER 08: Steve Hawley, left, and Yolanda Reed do inspections and repairs on Ford F-150 Lightning underbodies at Fords Rouge Electric Vehicle Center on September 8, 2022 in Dearborn, Michigan. The Lightning is Fords all-electric truck. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

Local leaders call for auto workers’ gains to spread to EV plants, Southern Black workers

By: - November 6, 2023

Local Black elected leaders aligned with racial and economic justice groups want to build on the labor gains made through the United Auto Workers’ six-week strike. The union’s tentative deals with the big three automakers include major wins such as a 25% rise in pay and getting rid of the two-tier worker system. More than […]

President Joe Biden tours the North American International Auto Show with GM CEO Mary Barra in Detroit on Sept. 14, 2022. Biden was joined on the tour by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

UAW focuses on soaring CEO pay in strike for better wages at the Detroit Three

By: - October 19, 2023

The United Auto Workers union’s strike against the Detroit Three for higher wages, more paid time off, and the elimination of tiered workers, which is in its fourth week, has drawn attention to the vast differences in pay between autoworkers and executives at auto manufacturers. The union has frequently spoken out about the gulf between […]

A KFC employee (who didn't give her name) works on hanging a sign-on bonus sign for job openings at the restaurant on Dec. 3, 2021, in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Jobs report surprises as employers add 336,000 jobs in September

By: - October 6, 2023

Employers continued their hiring streak in September, surprising economists by boosting jobs for workers in restaurants, health care, and government. The Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs report, released  Friday, showed a gain of 336,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.8%. The BLS also revised up the jobs added in July and August […]

The Too Much Talent Band and local activists have a joyful protest of music and dancing outside of The White House to "Cancel Student Debt" on March 15, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We The 45 Million)

Student debt relief scams on the rise. Here’s what borrowers need to know.

By: - September 28, 2023

Complaints about student debt relief scams are increasing as the date approaches for borrowers to restart payment on their student loans after more than a three-year pause. Consumer protection advocates say that the Biden administration’s student debt relief efforts, the subsequent halting of those policies by the courts, and the restart of student loan payments […]

A customer is rung up by a cashier in a Kroger grocery store on July 15, 2022, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Millions more workers would receive overtime pay under proposed Biden administration rule

By: - September 7, 2023

Salaried workers who have been ineligible for overtime pay would benefit from a proposed Biden administration regulation. The Department of Labor’s new rule would require employers compensate full-time workers in management, administrative, or other professional roles for any overtime worked if they make less than $55,068 annually. Currently, the salary threshold is $35,568. The change […]

A person walks past a "Join our team today!" sign posted at a UPS store amid a still-robust labor market on Feb. 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Job growth exceeds economists’ expectations as unemployment inches up

By: - September 1, 2023

The labor market is stable and healthy, economists and policy experts say, although the unemployment rate ticked up in the month of August. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report released Friday showed that unemployment rose to 3.8% in August from 3.5% in July. Meanwhile the economy added 187,000 jobs, above expectations of 170,000 jobs from […]

Advocates, legislators, and pregnant workers rally on Capitol Hill in support of The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act on Dec. 1, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for A Better Balance)

Pregnant workers have new protections. Here’s what to expect from your boss.

By: - August 25, 2023

Almost two months after workplace accommodations for pregnant workers became law, the rules surrounding what employers can and cannot do have yet to be finalized — but that doesn’t mean the protections are not in place. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s proposed regulations are expected to offer more clarity once finalized, but workers can still […]

Vice President Kamala Harris, shown here at an event in June, touted a new Department of Labor rule while in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. The new rule would improve wages and workplace protections for people working on projects that get federal funding. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

VP Kamala Harris unveils new wage rule for federal projects

By: - August 8, 2023

Construction workers who work on federal projects are poised to receive better wages and worker protections under a Department of Labor rule touted by Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday. Speaking at a union hall in Philadelphia, Harris praised the Biden administration’s economic agenda and pointed out that the new rule would be the first […]

Carlos, a UPS worker in Manhattan, delivers packages on his daily rounds on July 24, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Teamsters-UPS reach ‘game-changing’ labor deal to avert strike

By: - July 25, 2023

UPS and its workers, represented by the Teamsters, reached a tentative deal on Tuesday to prevent an Aug. 1 strike of 340,000 union members at the package carrier. A work stoppage could have cost the U.S. economy billions by disrupting supply chains and upending distribution to both large and small businesses, hospitals and homes. Representatives […]

Kristen Chapman is moving from Tennessee to Virginia so her 15 year-old transgender daughter can continue receiving gender-affirming care. (Photo by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Harm of anti-LGBTQ laws includes economic pain for communities, families

By: - July 19, 2023

Roberto Che Espinoza had been thinking about leaving Tennessee after the 2024 election, but in June they noticed that the state attorney general was seeking medical records on gender-affirming medical care, which Espinoza, a nonbinary transgender man, said included their own records. “Being on any kind of list … I knew after the release of […]

Economy adds more jobs in June even as hiring slows

By: - July 7, 2023

Although hiring inched down in June, the U.S. labor market is still showing signs of strength, with unemployment falling and earnings continuing to rise, the latest jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor showed. The economy added 209,000 jobs as the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% from 3.7% in May. “In excess of 200,000, […]

A customer enters a Domino's Pizza restaurant on June 21, 2012, in Glendale, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

States, cities turn to community organizations to battle wage theft 

By: - June 30, 2023

About five years ago, most of Minneapolis’ Subway, Little Caesars and McDonald’s franchise restaurants did not comply with city wage standards. Now workers at each of the locations that violated the law receive the required minimum wage and time off when they’re sick. This is all thanks to a co-enforcement program, where the city’s labor […]