How the Federal Reserve Can Let Our Wages Grow. Why is the Fed about to slow down the economy?

Hear why the Federal Reserve should resist calls to raise interest rates in December, and learn about a new legislative proposal for the Fed to prioritize full employment, push for higher wages, and ensure that your constituents share in the economic recovery

Hosted by Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Frederica Wilson, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Full Employment Caucus

Panelists:

Bill Spriggs, AFL-CIO

Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute

Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research

Carola Binder, Professor of Economics at Haverford College

And featuring testimony from low-wage workers representing:

Rise Up Georgia, Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, Action United (a Philadelphia-based community organization), and Action Now (Chicago-based community organization)

The Federal Reserve is considered by many to be the most important economic policymaking institution in the country. In the wake of the financial crisis, Fed policymakers took extraordinary steps to help our economy recover. Yet years after the recession, labor market participation is the lowest it has been in decades, wage growth is nowhere to be seen, and Black, Latino, and youth unemployment remain above pre-recession levels in many states and cities.

Congress has tasked the Federal Reserve with creating a full employment economy where workers have bargaining power to demand higher wages, and minority workers are less vulnerable to discrimination in the labor market. Yet despite a sluggish recovery and consistently low inflation, Fed policymakers may raise interest rates as soon as mid-December, intentionally slowing down the economy, denying many Americans the chance to experience the jobs recovery, and making it much harder for the Fed to truly fulfill its full employment mandate.

That’s why Rep. John Conyers and the co-chairs of the Congressional Full Employment Caucus have introduced the “Full Employment Federal Reserve Act,” a bill that strengthens the full employment portion of the Fed’s mandate. The bill instructs the Fed to examine factors like wage growth and involuntary part-time work in making decisions about interest rates.

This briefing is an opportunity to hear from leading economists about how the Fed can adopt policies to better facilitate wage growth and create economic stability in our communities. You will also hear testimony from constituents across the nation who are struggling with inadequate wages, insufficient hours, and impractical schedules.