News & Events

This Labor Day, we honor those who have fought for worker justice and reflect on labor history including some dark chapters in our local history.  While we have come a long way from some of the egregious safety issues and bloody conflict of the early 1900’s, we also know we…

Job Description: Part -Time Development Lead Just Economics of Western North Carolina is a regional membership organization based in Asheville, NC. Our mission is to educate, advocate, and organize for a just and sustainable economy that works for all in Western North Carolina. Just Economics was born out of the Asheville-Buncombe Living…

Job Description: Full Time Housing and Wages Organizer–2023 Just Economics is seeking a full time Housing and Wages Organizer in Asheville, NC to support our work advocating for more affordable housing, better wages, and improved working conditions. Just Economics of Western North Carolina (JE) is a regional, membership organization based in…

Just Economics put the 2023 Living Wage Certification on hold for the first two months of the year as the organization planned for a few changes to the program. Today, March 1st, Just Economics is announcing the 2023 Buncombe County Living Wage Rate and the new addition to the living…

In 2022, Just Economics continued our fight for economic justice centering the voices of people most impacted. Among an on-going pandemic, high inflation, and the economic impacts of Covid 19, we worked together with low-wage workers, bus riders and drivers, tenants, partners, and allies to continue to have an impact…

Join us for Just Economics’ Annual Celebration December 1st, 6-9pm at Jubilee! (46 Wall Street).  This event is free and open to the public.  We will have food, drinks, music, celebration and a raffle. We’ll be honoring pandemic heroes and the people who helped advance our work this year.   Big…

Join Just Economics and other Living Wage Programs in the United States and around the world in celebrating International Living Wage Week from November 14th – November 18th!  Living Wage Week is a celebration that draws attention to our certification programs and Living Wage Certified Employers, while highlighting the growing…

By Vicki Meath, Executive Director of Just Economics Labor Day is a natural time to reflect on the state of workers in our community and our world. Today I reflect on the good that is happening surrounding worker organizing, the bad news that still exists for too many workers, and…

Even now, in 2022, women and particularly women of color continue to make significantly less than white male counterparts in the workforce, across all industries. In fact on August 3, as communities across the country mark Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, we know that Black women earn 58 cents for…

Just Economics announces our 2022 Living Wage Rate as $17.70/hr (with or without health insurance) In 2021, Just Economics reassessed our formula for determining the living wage. The last time we did that was in 2011, and this is a practice we intend to continue at least every 10 years….

Just Economics is hiring a full time Housing and Wages Organizer. Apply by January 7th at the link at the end of this post. Job Description: Just Economics of Western North Carolina (JE) is a regional, membership organization based in Asheville, NC. Our mission is to educate, advocate, and organize…

Join us for a fun and interactive virtual event celebrating our work over this year! We’ll play an interactive game and close out the year as a community. You can also expect and awesome collection of raffle prizes. Whether you have been around Just Economics for a while or new…

The week of November 15th-21st is International Living Wage Week! Living Wage Week is a big deal in countries like the UK, and Just Economics is excited to partner with the National Living Wage Network and Living Wage for US to bring Living Wage Week to the United States in…

This Labor Day, a year and a half into a global pandemic, twelve years into a minimum wage of $7.25 and decades into growing income inequality in this nation. Isn’t it time?  Isn’t it time to not just honor the workers who make our society work with a holiday but…

Tuesday, May 25th, the Asheville City Manager’s budget was introduced and June 8th, the public will get a chance to weigh in on the budget during the public hearing. The final vote on the City of Asheville’s budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, will take place on June…

The cost of living in Asheville and the surrounding area has been a regular topic of conversation on social media, in the press, and around our office. At Just Economics, we run a voluntary Living Wage Certification Program that certifies (and then recertifies every two years) employers who voluntarily pay…

I moved to Asheville from the Piedmont of NC in 2008 to go to college at UNC Asheville. I rented my first house in 2009 in Montford, a two bedroom house for $900 which at the time felt EXPENSIVE, so after bringing in an extra roommate for a while to…