Economy

March 22, 2023 - Millions of dollars from the federal COVID-19 economic stimulus bill remain on the table in Southern communities, offering an ongoing opportunity to press leaders to prioritize equitable distribution.

March 22, 2023 - Earlier this year, Louisiana regulators signed off on LCMC Health System's acquisition of three Tulane University hospitals in New Orleans. Documentarian Jason Kerzinski spoke with Tulane nurses about the deal, and they said they fear not only for their own jobs but for the safety of patients in what will now be the city's hospital duopoly.

February 10, 2023 - While public support for labor unions in the U.S. is at its highest level in a half-century, the portion of Southern workers in unions did not grow last year, even though unions added new members. But strikes and other workplace protests in the region jumped by over 20%, showing growing labor activism.

February 10, 2023 - A growing number of states have adopted policies promoted by the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council punishing financial companies that halt investments in oil, gas, and coal. But they also punish taxpayers by reducing competition among municipal bond underwriters, thus raising interest rates.

January 27, 2023 - The North Carolina Utilities Commission's newly adopted plan to limit Duke Energy's climate-disrupting pollution calls for new gas-burning plants — even though they leak methane, a greenhouse gas that in the short term is even more potent than carbon. Forty-five scientists recently called Duke's planned gas expansion "entirely indefensible from a climate and public health perspective," and advocates vowed to fight the proposed plants.

January 11, 2023 - Over 100 corporations said they'd reconsider their political giving after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, but most continued donating to members of Congress who voted against certifying President Biden's 2020 election. Among them are Fortune 500 firms with headquarters in the South, including AT&T, Delta Air Lines, and Walmart.

January 11, 2023 - The U.S. dollar store industry is booming, but its workers struggle with low pay and dangerous working conditions. In New Orleans, they're organizing with help from Step Up Louisiana, a community-based organization that builds power to win economic justice.