We aim to fuel research that identifies and combats systemic inequality, advocating for change that promotes equity and justice. Take a look at some of our projects and publications below to learn more about our work.
Pittsburgh Wage Study
In 2015 the Pittsburgh Wage Review Committee Issued a report on lower-wage hospital workers. This report highlighted that lower-wage workers have many strengths and display remarkable resilience and resourcefulness in the face multiple hardships: food insecurity, housing instability, utility cutoffs, and difficulties affording health care or medication. Workers earning low wages often report living from paycheck-to-paycheck, using public benefits or assistance from non-profit groups, and juggling bills to make ends meet. Those who are parents describe struggling to provide for their children.
Following this report, the Pittsburgh Wage Study was started to look further into these issues and the lives of lower-wage workers. With support from the Heinz Endowments, the University of Pittsburgh Social Service Research Initiative, the Pittsburgh Wage Study began work to better understand the lives of lower-wage hospital workers employed by one of the region’s two major healthcare systems. In addition to our study of hospital service workers, members of our team have begun to investigate how low wages affect other groups of workers, non-profit organizations, parent-child relationships, and unionization efforts. These studies utilize a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods. These supplementary studies have been supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the NASW Foundation.
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