Laura Stateler

Laura Stateler is a Research Assistant at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program (Brookings Metro). Under the direction of Molly Kinder, a David M. Rubenstein Fellow, Stateler conducts research on the present and future of work, especially for low-wage workers and women. Her most recent work has focused on the essential workers at the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stateler previously interned with Martha Ross, a Senior Fellow at Brookings Metro, and served as a Paralegal/Organizer at the Workers Defense Project, a worker center in Austin, Texas for low-wage, immigrant workers in the construction industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and international studies from Boston College.

Contract drivers paid by Amazon, including Ayodeji Akinsanya, collect bags of free groceries to deliver from the Bread for the City social services charity during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Washington, U.S. May 5, 2020. The charity is sending out as many as 500 or 600 bags a day using the drivers. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The COVID-19 hazard continues, but the hazard pay does not: Why America’s essential workers need a raise

Molly Kinder, Laura Stateler, and Julia Du

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Laura Stateler

A policy manifesto for paying, protecting, and empowering essential workers

Amazon’s union battle in Bessemer, Alabama is about dignity, racial justice, and the future of the American worker

Essential workers comprise about half of all workers in low-paid occupations. They deserve a $15 minimum wage.

Local COVID-19 hazard pay mandates are doing what Congress and most corporations aren’t for essential workers

Amazon and Walmart have raked in billions in additional profits during the pandemic, and shared almost none of it with their workers

Windfall profits and deadly risks

Work-based learning can advance equity and opportunity for America’s young people

The COVID-19 hazard continues, but the hazard pay does not: Why America’s essential workers need a raise