Perry Work Report, June 6, 2014

June 6, 2014

Announcements:

Nominations for Bora Laskin Award 2014

The University of Toronto's Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources is inviting nominations for its annual Bora Laskin Award for Outstanding Contributions to Canadian Labour Law. More information about the Bora Laskin Award can be found at the Centre's website. The Awards Committee will consider nominations received on or before Friday, June 20, 2014. To submit a nomination, please fill out the online form.

Allen Ponak, President-Elect of the National Academy of Arbitrators

Allen Ponak is confirmed as President-Elect of the National Academy of Arbitrators. The Academy is the leading professional association of neutral labour and employment arbitrators in the United States and Canada. Dr. Ponak will assume the presidency in May 2015, becoming the fourth Canadian president in Academy history.

The Recruitment Transformation UnConference (RTUC)

On June 26, 2014, the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University will be hosting the Recruitment Transformation UnConference (RTUC). For more information about sessions, speakers, and registration please visit: www.ryerson.ca/rtuc/.
 

work&labour  news&research -- follow us on the CIRHR Library Tumblr and on the CIRHR Twitter

Labour Leaders Hammer Premier on Union Certification Bill

“‘Lets state it for what it is. This is an attack on worker’s rights and on labour rights,’ [Union leader Lana] Payne told CBC News.”

"Payne, Atlantic director for the Canadian super-union Unifor, met with [Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tom] Marshall to discuss Bill 22, which was introduced in the House of Assembly this week. The bill, if made law, will change one of the rules involving union certification."

"As it currently stands, a union can be formed automatically if 65 per cent of a company’s employees sign union cards. Those rules were implemented in 2012."

"But two years later the provincial government is aiming to change the rules once again, with legislation that would require workers to use a secret ballot process instead."

"Payne said the message government is sending to workers is very clear. 'This is about catering to the employer lobby that does not want the opportunity for workers to organize themselves into a union,' said Payne."

"NDP Leader Lorraine Michael wants government to withdraw Bill 22. She said government did not consult with union and labour leaders about the changes.”

CBC News, June 4, 2014: “Labour leaders hammer premier on union certification bill”

CBC News, June 3, 2014: “Unions accuse government of capitulating on labour law”

Read the full-text of Bill 22: An Act to Amend the Labour Relations Act here.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour [website]

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The Globe & Mail Ontario Leaders' Economic Plan Debate

The Debate

"In this online leaders’ debate, we have asked the three major candidates for Ontario premier in the June 12 election to answer a fundamental question: ‘What is needed to get Ontario’s economy back on track?’ They each were given up to 800 words to do so, and they were told they could not criticize the platforms of other parties and candidates -- they had to make the best case for their own. This election is very much rooted in the urgent need for economic recovery, so the responses to this question have real consequence. Take the time to read all three proposals, and vote on the one you find most persuasive."

The Debaters

Andrea Horwath -- Leader of the Ontario NDP: Stop wasting tax dollars and invest in fundamentals.

Kathleen Wynne -- Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party: Make strategic investments to transition to a high-wage, value-added economy.

Tim Hudak -- Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party: Create jobs by slashing bureaucracy and cutting taxes.

Read The Discussion here.

The Globe and Mail, June 4, 2014: “The Globe Ontario leaders’ debate: Vote on the best economic plan”

For more in-depth coverage of Ontario’s 41st general election: TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin -- Ontario Election 2014: In-Depth Analysis, Context and Debate

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Minimum Wage & Rising CEO Compensation

On June 1, 2014, Ontario's minimum wage increased to $11. However, CEO salaries continue to increase in Canada, leaving low-wage earners still holding the short end of the stick.

"Angel Reyes is getting his first raise in four years Sunday [June 1, 2014] when Ontario’s minimum wage goes up by 75 cents to $11."

"But he’s not feeling any richer."

“‘The cost of everything has gone up so much. My rent has increased, transportation has increased, food has increased. Even the cost of stamps at the post office,’ said the 60-year-old temp agency worker who sorts trash for a Toronto recycling company.”

"At $11, the minimum wage still leaves a full-time worker like Reyes living 16 per cent below the poverty line, said Deena Ladd of the Workers’ Action Centre, a non-profit workers’ collective.”

"Even though the minimum wage is going up, some workers say their employers are cutting benefits to compensate."

"A Toronto-area Tim Hortons worker, who didn’t want her name or outlet location identified for fear of reprisals, said her employer posted a memo notifying staff he was ending breaks with pay to recoup costs."

The Toronto Star, May 31, 2014: “Ontario’s minimum wage jumps to $11 Sunday,” by Laurie Monsebraaten

Executive Compensation: Canada’s 100 Top-Paid CEOs

"This is The Globe and Mail’s annual ranking of compensation for CEOs from the 100 largest public companies (by market capitalization) in Canada’s benchmark S&P/TSX composite index as of Dec. 31, 2013.”

Explore or search the rankings via this table, or simply follow the link below.

The Globe and Mail, June 1, 2014: “Executive compensation: Canada’s 100 top-paid CEOs,” by Janet McFarland

The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2014: “CEO salaries are on the rise, but do they deserve it? Plus, a look at Canada’s low-wage earners" [video, runs 5:54 min.]

The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2014: “CEO salaries are on the rise in Canada. What about the average employee?” [video, runs 3:39 min.]

Click here to find out how long it will take Canada’s top CEOs to earn your entire salary.

The Centre for Policy Alternatives also reported on this issue back in January 2014. Read the full report, entitled “All in a Day’s Work?: CEO Pay in Canada,” here (14 pages, PDF).

Minimum Wage in the United States

"Seattle councillors unanimously voted to increase the minimum wage in their city to $15 per hour, which would make it the highest in U.S."

"Minimum wage is currently $9.32 an hour, the Washington state minimum wage, which is itself the highest minimum wage of any state. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour."

"The measure, which would take effect on April 1, 2015, includes a phase-in of the wage increase over several years, with a slower process for small businesses."

CBC News, June 2, 2014: “Seattle minimum wage to climb to $15 per hour after city council decision”

National Conference of State Legislatures, June 2, 2014: “State Minimum Wages | 2014 Minimum Wage by State”

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New Prostitution Laws, Same Old Harms to Sex Workers

"Justice Minister Peter MacKay thinks that sex work is inherently dehumanizing."

"Those who do such work, the Minister says, are victims to be helped, not criminals."

"Nonetheless, in the new, proposed sex work legislation the Minister tabled in the House on Wednesday [June 4, 2014] he would render illegal at least some of what those ‘victims’ do."

"For instance, the proposed legislation makes it against the law to advertise sexual services."

"Such a prohibition, sex workers and their advocates say, would make it much more difficult for prostitutes to ply their trade in safe, indoors places."

rabble.ca, June 5, 2014: “Peter MacKay’s proposed new law could drive sex workers back underground,” by Karl Nerenberg

"[The draft bill] C-36 proposes a model for Canada like that followed in Sweden and some other Nordic countries."

"That is not the one that Canadian sex workers argued for when the Supreme Court of Canada found the country’s prostitution laws unconstitutional last year.”

In the Nordic model, “...selling sex is legal but paying for it is not.”

"Most of the sex workers’ rights groups in Canada reject the model as ‘harmful and inconsistent with sex workers’ constitutional rights to health and safety,’ as the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform (CASWLR) puts it.”

"The group argues that targeting clients makes street prostitutes ‘more likely to take risks with new or unknown clients,’ and ‘displaces sex workers into darker and less populated areas where they are more vulnerable to violence’ and less likely ‘to take sufficient time to screen potential clients.’"

CBC News, June 4, 2014: “Sex workers like New Zealand law, not Canada’s new ‘Nordic model’ for prostitution,” by Daniel Schwartz

CBC News, June 4, 2014: “Panel on prostitution bill” [video, runs 9:12 min.]

The Globe and Mail, June 4, 2014: “New prostitution laws, same old harms to sex workers,” Kyle Kirkup

"A B.C. study suggests criminalizing johns endangers sex workers and fails to eradicate the demand for paid sex."

"The researchers, from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the University of British Columbia (UBC), said the situation in Vancouver provides a preview of what can happen to sex workers across Canada if the Nordic model is adopted."

“’Where sex work operates within a criminalized and policed environment...sex workers continue to have poor relations with police and are unable to access critical social, health, and legal protections,’ said Kate Shannon, senior report author.... When police target people who buy sex, sex workers cannot properly screen clients for red flags, as they have to rush negotiations, and are often ‘forced to move to more isolated spaces such as alleys,’ she said.”

The National Post, June 3, 2014: “Criminalizing johns endangers sex workers, B.C. study says,” by Rachel Browne

BMJ Open, June 2, 2014: “Criminalisation of clients: reproducing vulnerabilities for violence and poor health among street-based sex workers in Canada -- a qualitative study,” by Krusi A, Pacey K, Bird L, et al. (11 pages, PDF)

Metro News, June 4, 2014: “Ottawa ‘ignored’ research when crafting new prostitution laws, say academics,” by Luke Simcoe

Government of Canada, Department of Justice, June 2014: “Online Public Consultation on Prostitution-Related Offences in Canada -- Final Results”

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Canadian-Born Visible Minority Youth Face an Unfair Job Future

"Data from the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS) which replaced the long-form census indicate that racial status remains a significant factor in shaping advantage and disadvantage in the Canadian job market and in influencing the overall level of poverty and income inequality."

"Put bluntly, non-whites do significantly worse than whites, in part because of racial discrimination."

“The fact that non-whites clearly operated at a disadvantage in the job market in the aftermath of the Great Recession in 2011 may reflect overt racial discrimination in layoffs and in hiring, or the fact that white youth have closer social connections to potential employers.”

“Previous studies based on census data, notably by Grace-Edward Galabuzi of Ryerson University, have carefully shown that race is a significant independent factor influencing success in the Canadian job market.”

The Broadbent Blog, June 3, 2014: “Canadian-born visible minority youth face an unfair job future,” by Andrew Jackson

“Today, Canadian youth face a future in which they are less likely than their parents to earn a decent wage, have a secure job, or own a home. Canada is failing on that most fundamental promise of offering greater opportunities to successive generations. Little wonder young people are frustrated with, and increasingly disengaged from, their democracy. They experience a political system that is disinterested in, and unresponsive to, their concerns, be they about affordable education, employment opportunities, or addressing climate change.”

"It’s time for Canada to offer a new deal to its young people.”

Broadbent Institute -- New Deal for Young People

Broadbent Institute, March 2014: “Time for a New Deal for Young People.” (19 pages, PDF)

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'Workforce Restructuring' Threat to Patient Safety

"A new report published by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions provides stark evidence that ill-considered experiments in the delivery of patient care can do real harm.”

"Valuing Patient Safety: Responsible Workforce Design, shows how heavy workloads, excessive overtime and increases in injuries and illness often result from executive decisions to change staff mix and staffing levels and other strategies to achieve administrative cost-cutting goals.”

"The study shows that even small changes can cause a domino effect that directly impacts nursing care delivery and patient care."

United Nurses of Alberta, May 30, 2014: “New study shows ‘workforce restructuring’ to be threat to patient safety”

Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, June 2014: “Valuing Patient Safety: Responsible Workforce Design,” by Dr. Maura MacPhee (96 pages, PDF)

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Canada's First-Quarter Growth Slowest Since 2012 & Additional Statistics Canada Reports

"Canada’s economy limped through a brutal winter, with growth slowing to an annual pace of 1.2 per cent in the first three months of the year."

"It was the slowest growth since the fourth quarter of 2012."

"Here are some interesting points from an otherwise weak showing:

  • Household alert: ‘Disposable income grew 4.5 per cent annualized, but part of the reason that didn’t translate into stronger consumption growth was because consumers opted to save more as evidenced by a one-tick increase in the savings rate to 4.9 per cent,’ said senior economist Krishen Rangasamy of National Bank.
  • Worker alert: ‘Compensation of employees rose 1.2 per cent in the first quarter following a 1.1-per-cent gain in the previous quarter. Over all, wages and salaries increased 1 per cent. Wages and salaries were up in services-producing industries (+1.1 per cent) and goods-producing industries (+0.7 per cent).’ See, you’re doing better.
  • Weather alert: ‘This downward pressure is expected to be transitory with activity expected to bounce back in the second quarter with the return of more seasonal temperatures. Our current forecast assumes growth rising 3 per cent in the current quarter.’ That’s from assistant chief economist Paul Ferley of Royal Bank of Canada, who provided a current forecast only for growth, not the weather.”

The Globe and Mail, May 30, 2014: “Six nifty things from the GDP report, four of which may brighten your day,” by Michael Babad

The Globe and Mail, May 30, 2014: “Canada’s first-quarter growth slowest since 2012,” by Michael Babad

Statistics Canada’s The Daily, May 30, 2014: “Canadian economic accounts, first quarter of 2014 and March 2014”

Canadian Payroll Employment, Earnings and Hours, March 2014

"Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $933 in March, up 0.7% from the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, weekly earnings increased 3.1%."

"The 3.1% increase in weekly earnings during the 12 months to March reflected a number of factors, including wage growth, changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience as well as average hours worked per week. Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 33.0 hours per week in March, unchanged from the previous month and up slightly from the average of 32.9 hours observed 12 months earlier."

Statistics Canada’s The Daily, May 29, 2014: “Payroll employment, earnings and hours, March 2014”

Census of Trusteed Pension Funds, 2012

"About 5.2 million Canadian workers had pension assets managed by trusteed pension funds in 2012, up 2.7% from 2010."

"The Census of Trusteed Pension Funds, conducted every two years, tracks the number of funds, membership and financial information of trusteed pension funds. Data are available by sector (public or private), type of plan and contributory status."
"The number of trusteed pension funds in Canada reached 8,875 in 2012, up 12.8% from 2010."

Statistics Canada’s The Daily, June 3, 2014: “Census of Trusteed Pension Funds, 2012”

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The 2014 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada

Corporate Knights released their 13th annual report on the state of responsible business in Canada on June 4, 2014.

From the editorial: “The Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada is the most recognized corporate sustainability ranking in the country. The organizations named to the Best 50 each year by Corporate Knights represent the very best in corporate sustainability performance. They are leaders within their respective industries on a diverse set of sustainability metrics, and epitomize the concept of doing more with less.”

Mountain Equipment Co-op tops this year’s Best 50 list.

In this report:

Corporate Knights Magazine, June 4, 2014: “The 2014 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada”

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The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and Canada's Auto Industry

"The proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will only exacerbate the Canadian auto industry’s recent decline, says a study released [May 27, 2014] by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)."

The Canadian Progressive, May 28, 2014: “Canada-EU trade deal will hurt Canada’s auto industry: study”

"Despite its challenges over the last decade the auto industry is still a crucial contributor to the national GDP, exports, productivity, an important source of well-paying work and Canada’s second largest export, after petroleum. This study is the second in a series on Canada’s Auto Industry by Unifor Economist Jim Stanford.”

"This study analyzes CETA’s likely effects on Canadian automotive trade, investment, and employment and claims the trade deal will make Canada’s current trade imbalance with the EU incrementally worse. It estimates that the existing $5.3 billion trade deficit with Europe will widen significantly as a result of the CETA, exceeding $7 billion within a decade. It argues that the growing bilateral deficit and resulting decline in net demand for Canadian-made automotive products arising from this widening bilateral deficit will negatively affect Canadian production, investment, and employment opportunities."

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, May 27, 2014: “CETA and Canada‘s Auto Industry: Making a bad situation worse,” by Jim Stanford

Download the full report here (40 pages, PDF).

The first study in this series:

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, May 6, 2014: “Canada’s Auto Industry and the New Free Trade Agreements: Sorting Through the Impacts,” by Jim Stanford

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Raising America's Pay

“Raising America’s Pay is a multiyear research and public education initiative by the Economic Policy Institute to make wage growth an urgent national policy priority.”

"The central economic policy issue today is the challenge of generating broad-based wage growth. Broad-based wage growth is the key to addressing income inequality, ensuring social mobility, reducing poverty, boosting middle-class incomes, and enjoying stable economic growth."

Economic Policy Institute, June 4, 2014: “Raising America’s Pay: An initiative of the Economic Policy Institute”

The Economic Policy Institute’s initiative Raising America’s Pay launches with the release of the new report Raising America’s Pay: Why It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge.

"The paper’s key data findings include:

  • Despite increasing economy-wide productivity, wages for the vast majority of American workers have either stagnated or declined since 1979, and this weak wage growth extends even to those with a college degree.
  • Inequality fueled by broad wage stagnation is by far the most important determinant of the slowdown in living standards growth over the past generation, and it has been enormously costly for the broad middle class (households between the 20th and 80th income percentiles).
  • The failure of wages to grow for the vast majority is the leading reason why progress in reducing poverty has stalled over the last three-and-a-half decades.
  • Key economic evidence implicates policy decisions -- and particularly changes in labor market policies and business practices -- as more important in explaining the slowdown in hourly wages for the vast majority than many commonly accepted explanations (such as the interaction between technological change and the skills and credentials of American workers).”

Economic Policy Institute, June 4, 2014: “Raising America’s Pay: Why It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge,” by Josh Bivens, Elise Gould, Lawrence Mishel, and Heidi Shierholz

Click here to download the full report (76 pages, PDF).

Supplementary Data: Download the appendix tables accompanying this report here.

"There are so many independent indicators pointing to sharply rising inequality, from the soaring prices of high-end real estate to the booming markets for luxury goods, that any claim that inequality isn’t rising almost has to be based on faulty data analysis."

"Yet inequality denial persists, for pretty much the same reasons that climate change denial persists: there are powerful groups with a strong interest in rejecting the facts, or at least creating a fog of doubt. Indeed, you can be sure that the claim ‘The Piketty numbers are all wrong’ will be endlessly repeated even though that claim quickly collapsed under scrutiny."

The New York Times, June 1, 2014: “On Inequality Denial,” by Paul Krugman

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The Case for Paying Female Retail Workers at Least $25,000

"Women in US retail jobs earn on average $4 an hour less than men, or 72 cents for every dollar men make, according to a new report by Demos, a liberal nonprofit public policy organization. The overall pay gap for women in the US is around 80 cents.”

"The wage gap in retailing costs US women $40.8 billion in lost wages annually, according to Demos, which estimated that 1.3 million women, or one in five women in US retail jobs, earns at or near poverty levels. Retailing is important because it accounts for more jobs than any other sector, and it’s growing.”

“Increasing the workers’ pays to an average of $25,000 a year would benefit retailers: the 5.7 million men and women workers would spend most of the extra income at stores, Demos said, and the country’s GDP could increase by as much as $15.7 billion."

“Demos found low wages for women to be a big issue, but only half the problem. The other half: insufficient hours and an unpredictable schedule, [report author Amy] Traub said in a media call. Retailers consider it ‘Just in Time scheduling’ that is based on demand and other factors that may change dramatically. ‘It’s difficult to plan child care or elder care or even schedule a doctor’s appointment’ when your schedule fluctuates a lot, she noted.”

Quartz, June 3, 2014: “The case for paying female retail workers at least $25,000,” by Vickie Elmer

The Huffington Post, June 2, 2014: “Women In Sales Must Work 103 Extra Days A Year To Make As Much As Men,” by Jillian Berman

Demos, June 2, 2014: “Retail’s Choice: How Raising Wages and Improving Schedules for Women in the Retail Industry Would Benefit America,” by Amy Traub

Download the full report here (40 pages, PDF).

Supplemental materials:

Demos, June 4, 2014: “A Higher Wage is Possible at Walmart (2014 Update),” by Catherine Ruetschlin and Amy Traub

Click here to download the PDF version (5 pages)

Institute for Women’s Policy Research, April 2014: The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation and by Race and Ethnicity, 2013,” by Ariane Hegewisch and Stephanie Keller Hudiburg (7 pages, PDF)

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Growing Number of Dads Home with the Kids

"The number of fathers who do not work outside the home has risen markedly in recent years, up to 2 million in 2012. High unemployment rates around the time of the Great Recession contributed to the recent increases, but the biggest contributor to long-term growth in these 'stay-at-home fathers' is the rising number of fathers who are at home primarily to care for their family."

"As is the case among mothers, stay-at-home fathers are less well-off financially and have lower educational attainment than their working counterparts."

"There are many potential reasons why more fathers with young children are at home these days. A 2012 Pew Research Center survey found that working fathers with children under age 18 are just as likely as working mothers to say that it is difficult for them to balance the responsibilities of their job with the responsibilities of their family. In addition, roughly equal shares of working fathers (48%) and mothers (52%) said they would prefer to be at home raising their children, but they need to work because they need the income."

Pew Research, June 5, 2014: "Growing Number of Dads Home with the Kids," by Gretchen Livingston

View the:

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Diversity at Google

"In a radical step that may force the technology industry to address head-on its challenges with diversity and inclusiveness, the world’s most popular search engine has made public the racial and gender statistics of its employee base."

"After declining to provide such information for years, Google Inc. abruptly changed course this week and released a breakdown of the diversity of its work force. Overall, roughly 61 per cent of Google’s U.S. employees are white, according to the company’s data. Asians make up 30 per cent, while Hispanic and black employees make up just 3 and 2 per cent, respectively."

"About 30 per cent of Google’s global work force is female. That number drops to 21 per cent for leadership roles, and just 17 per cent in the company’s core technology-related segments."

"For its part, Google accepted some of the blame for the diversity shortfall, but also cited a wider industry culture that works against women and minorities."

The Globe and Mail, May 29, 2014: “Google’s radical step to address inequality at its offices,” by Omar El Akkad

CBC News, May 28, 2014: “Google diversity report highlights white male workforce”

Official Google Blog, May 28, 2014: “Getting to work on diversity at Google”

Google Diversity [website]

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David Cay Johnston: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality

The New Economic Thinking Interviews video series features “dozens of conversations with leading economists on the most important issues facing economics and the global economy today.”

"At the Institute ‘New Economic Thinking’ means finding new ways of looking at economic problems by incorporating wisdom from a variety of academic disciplines and creating new sets of economic tools. These interviews exemplify this approach, offering young economic thinkers potential role models to follow and fresh approaches to pursue. Taken collectively, they offer a wide-ranging glimpse of the economics of the future that the Institute is committed to building.”

In this video, “Institute President Rob Johnson interviews David Cay Johnston about his new book, Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality.”

According to the publisher, “Divided collects the writings of leading scholars, activists, and journalists to provide an illuminating, multifaceted look at inequality in America, exploring its devastating implications in areas as diverse as education, justice, health care, social mobility, and political representation.”

New Economic Thinking, June 1, 2014: “David Cay Johnston: The Perils Of Our Growing Inequality” [video, runs 33:54 min.]

Salon, May 22, 2014: “’Bloodiest thing the world has seen’: David Cay Johnston on inequality’s looming disaster,” by Elias Isquith

CounterPunch, May 14, 2014: “Breaking Down Inequality,” by Moshe Adler

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Book of the Week

Divided: the Perils of Our Growing Inequality, edited by David Cay Johnston. New York: The New Press, 2014. 324 p. ISBN 9781595589231 (hardcover)

From the publisher: "The issue of inequality has irrefutably returned to the fore, riding on the anger against Wall Street following the 2008 financial crisis and the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of the super-rich. The Occupy movement made the plight of the 99 percent an indelible part of the public consciousness, and concerns about inequality were a decisive factor in the 2012 presidential elections. How bad is it? According to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston, most Americans, in inflation-adjusted terms, are now back to the average income of 1966. Shockingly, from 2009 to 2011, the top 1 percent got 121 percent of the income gains while the bottom 99 percent saw their income fall. Yet in this most unequal of developed nations, every aspect of inequality remains hotly contested and poorly understood. Divided collects the writings of leading scholars, activists, and journalists to provide an illuminating, multifaceted look at inequality in America, exploring its devastating implications in areas as diverse as education, justice, health care, social mobility, and political representation. Provocative and eminently readable, here is an essential resource for anyone who cares about the future of America -- and compelling evidence that inequality can be ignored only at the nation's peril."

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