Economy

February 20, 2015 - This week Walmart announced it would boost starting wages for employees to $10 an hour by next February. Some view the modest increase as a victory for workers' organizing efforts -- but others see it as an attempt to deflect the growing movement for a more substantial wage hike.

February 20, 2015 - While governors in the Southeast are pushing for offshore oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic, elected officials in other East Coast states are fighting the proposal, saying the potential cost is too great.

February 10, 2015 - In a new report, "Tar Heel Power Brokers," Facing South/Institute for Southern Studies ranks the top 101 most influential special interests in North Carolina politics through a combination of lobbying power and political spending in N.C. state-level elections. These four interactive graphics tell the story of these power brokers' influence in state government.

February 9, 2015 - Even the unofficial presence of a union and its supporters can help workers long before an election is held and force a company to act right.

February 5, 2015 - While unions in the South have followed the national trend of declining membership, they have also made recent gains in the region. Meanwhile, demographic changes are underway that offer more hope for labor organizing.

February 2, 2015 - There's a connection between the way restaurant servers are paid and the high rate of sexual harassment they experience.

January 30, 2015 - With income inequality getting renewed attention from the public and policymakers, a new report by the Economic Analysis and Research Network takes a state-by-state look at the problem -- and finds that Southern states are among those where the income gap has grown most dramatically.