EPI Policy Center
The EPI Policy Center is the advocacy affiliate of the labor union-connected think tank Economic Policy Institute. The Economic Policy Institute provides union-funded research and programming, whereas the EPI Policy Center is the advocacy and lobbying arm for the organization, pushing for a left-of-center and pro-labor union agenda at the state, local and federal levels of government. 1 EPI Policy Center publishes literature praising the budget proposals of the left-of-center Congressional Progressive Caucus. 2
Contents
Background
The Economic Policy Institute was founded in 1986, and credits its founding to several notable liberal political figures including Lester Thurow and Robert Reich. 1 EPI reported nearly $6 million of revenue in its most recent financial statement and receives millions in funding from the nation’s largest labor unions, and its board of directors was chaired by former AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka until his passing in 2021. On all filings, the EPI Policy Center has shared the same president as the EPI. 3 EPI Policy Center is small in scope; a number of the group’s IRS has tax filings report less than $50,000 in income. 3 In 2009, EPI Policy Center’s largest year in the past decade by revenues, the group reported $140,457. 4
Former board members included then-EPI president Larry Mishel; then-incumbent union presidents Richard Trumka, Randi Weingarten, Gerald McEntee, and Bruce Raynor; and EPI board members Jeff Faux, Robert Kuttner, and Julianne Malveaux. 5
Activities
In most years, EPI Policy Center reports less than $50,000 per year of revenue and thus is not required to file detailed financial reports with the Internal Revenue Service. 3 A website dedicated solely to the EPI Policy Center contains a few articles from 2008 or prior. 6 In 2018, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) government worker union provided EPI Policy Center with $150,000.7
On the website of the Economic Policy Institute one can find publications published under the EPI policy center’s name on EPI Policy Center letterhead. These papers are the only trace of EPI Policy Center Activity on the EPI website. There are only six such papers, five of them are papers praising the most recent proposed budget by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of far-left U.S. Representatives, for fiscal years 2013 to 2018. The most recent report was published in May of 2017 and all six reports were published by EPI staff members. 8
Economic Policy institute uses the EPI Policy Center is to sign letters with other liberal groups to urge Congress to take specific action; in 20179 and 2018,10 the EPI Policy Center signed letters that opposed the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
EPI Policy Center collects donations through left wing funding arm ActBlue, which is a fundraising network designed to be “the online clearinghouse for Democratic action.”11
Grant Activity
All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $510,000
- Number of Grants: 4
- Number of Funders: 3
Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:
| Amount | Year | Funder | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | 2021 | National Education Association of the United States | FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE |
| $150,000 | 2022 | American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees | General |
| $150,000 | 2021 | American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees | Think |
| $10,000 | 2025 | Unite Here Action Fund | CONTRIBUTION |
All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $250,000
- Number of Grants: 1
- Number of Recipients: 1
Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:
| Amount | Year | Funder | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | 2020 | Economic Policy Institute | FOR GENERAL OPERATING EXPENSES |