Staggering CEO pay smashes all previous records

CEO pay reached astronomical levels last year, according to a new report whose author said he's never seen anything like it.<br /><div><br /><div>The 10 highest paid CEOs all took home more than $100 million, and two 'earned' more than $1 billion in a single year, according to GMI Ratings' 2013 Pay Survey.</div><div><br /><div>"I have never seen anything like that," the report's author, Greg Ruel, told the Guardian. "Usually we have a few CEOs at the $100m-plus level but never the entire top 10."<br /><br />Median workers' pay in the U.S. fell 9 percent since 1999.<br /><br />McKesson CEO John Hammergren, who took home<a href="http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eggh45jef/john-hammergren-of-mckesson/"> $131.2 million in 2011</a>, didn't even make this year's list. Perhaps that's because<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/McKesson-shareholders-reject-CEO-pay.html"> investors said 'no' to his exorbitant pay package this year</a>. <br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.alternet.org/billion-dollar-pay-check-10-ceos-america-break-all-records-executive-pay?page=0%2C1&paging=off&current_page=1#bookmark">The Guardian</a>,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">...median household income, adjusted for inflation, was $51,017 in 2012, broadly unchanged from 2011. Wages for the average household have fallen about 9% from an inflation-adjusted peak of $56,080 in 1999. The census figures show a sharp recovery for those at the top of the wage scale as those at the bottom continue to see falls. </blockquote><div>Here are the top 10:<br /><ol><li>Facebook, Inc., Mark Zuckerberg, $2,278,668,214 </li><li>Kinder Morgan, Inc., Richard D. Kinder, $1,116,685,089 </li><li>Sirius XM Radio Inc., Mel Karmazin, $255,355,676 </li><li>Liberty Media Corporation, Gregory B. Maffei, $254,890,638 </li><li>Apple Inc., Timothy D. Cook, $143,828,867 </li><li>Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc., Edward W. Stack, $142,052,496 </li><li>Liberty Interactive Corporation, Gregory B. Maffei, $136,450,484 </li><li>Starbucks Corporation, Howard Schultz, $117,562,601 </li><li>salesforce.com, inc., Marc Benioff, $109,544,875 </li><li>Verisk Analytics, Inc., Frank J. Coyne, $100,432,117 </li></ol>The report doesn't disclose the gap between the CEO's pay and the average worker's pay.<br /><br />The<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/ceos-must-expose-inequality.html"> Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)</a> proposes companies disclose the gap, and the <a href="http://teamster.org/">Teamsters</a> support that proposal. Take, for example, Hammergren. During his tenure as CEO at McKesson, the company paid nearly $1 billion in fines for Medicaid fraud and price fixing, while newly organized Teamsters at the company's Lakeland, Fla., warehouse can't afford health insurance.<br /><br />Making CEO's explain to investors that there's a mind-boggling distance between their pay and their average workers' pay might just shame them into common decency.<br /><br /></div></div></div></div>

CEO Pay inequality wages Staggering CEO pay smashes all previous records

CEO pay reached astronomical levels last year, according to a new report whose author said he's never seen anything like it.The 10 highest paid CEOs all took home more than $100 million, and two 'earned' more than $1 billion in a single year, accordi…

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Unions help improve salaries for all, group finds

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We’ve </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/US-households-are-now-earning-less-than-in-1989.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">written many times</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in this space about how union jobs provide a better standard of living for workers. And a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau stats released last week backs that up. Workers in states with higher union memberships </span><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/23/2665131/the-middle-class-does-better-in-states-with-lots-of-union-members/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">are earning more</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> than those in the least unionized states.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0h_dGLMurMP4xjAAQj0karoMUOl4wh1xSKmQjij1iKjIlQg5kGdVQdvjSJRxotdzsOuZ0gl8uzlPMW7NiMsJReB0n9JsivDzCYPRVFautp0X9h_sMBwY7hZtbHzXxAfJCZea7c_zxMdpC/s1600/middle-class_I7bsn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0h_dGLMurMP4xjAAQj0karoMUOl4wh1xSKmQjij1iKjIlQg5kGdVQdvjSJRxotdzsOuZ0gl8uzlPMW7NiMsJReB0n9JsivDzCYPRVFautp0X9h_sMBwY7hZtbHzXxAfJCZea7c_zxMdpC/s200/middle-class_I7bsn.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Center for American Progress’ Action Fund (CAPAF) looked at the income of the middle 60 percent of households in 2012. Middle-class families in U.S. states with the lowest unionization rates -- North Carolina, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia -- all earned below average income, while those in four of the five most unionized states -- Alaska, Hawaii, Washington and Rhode Island -- earned above average incomes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> But CAPAF also </span><a href="http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/labor/news/2013/09/20/74751/middle-classes-are-stronger-in-states-with-greater-union-membership/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">delved deeper to uncover wider income disparities</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Further illustrating this divide is the gap between the average percent of total state income going to the middle class in the top 10 and bottom 10 most-unionized states. In the top 10 most-unionized states, households in the middle class received 47.4 percent of total state income on average; in the bottom 10 states, households in the middle class received only 46.8 percent. While a difference of 0.6 percentage points may not initially appear large, in 2012, 0.6 percent of Pennsylvania’s aggregate income, for example, would have equaled over $2 billion, or almost $700 per middle-class household.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Even for those not part of a union, the labor movement’s added clout in those states with the highest union membership meant there was increased advocacy on behalf of workers’ interests both in the workplace as well as on the political agenda. CAPAF said unions “have an effect on the everyday lives of middle-class families.”</span>

middle class unions wages Unions help improve salaries for all, group finds

We’ve written many times in this space about how union jobs provide a better standard of living for workers. And a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau stats released last week backs that up. Workers in states with higher union memberships are earnin…

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16 facts about jobs in America that will make your blood boil

The unemployment rate is down to <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/09/06/unemployment-rate-drop-for-wrong-reasons/" rel="nofollow">7.3 percent we learned today</a>, but that isn't good news. The reason the jobless rate fell is that more people gave up looking for work.<br /><br />Times are tough for most people in America today, as huge corporations such as Walmart wield inordinate power over their workers. With that power comes union-busting, low wages and dangerous workplaces.<br /><br />In other words, there are hardly any good jobs.<br /><br />We bring you some numbers that illustrate the state of working America today, with special thanks to David Cay Johnstone at <a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/failed-policy-the-401k-shrinks-in-a-growing-economy-2/">The National Memo</a>, Heidi Shierholz at the <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/unemployment-rate-relevant/">Economic Policy Institute</a> and Paul Buchheit at <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/02-0#.UinZRU81MxU.facebook" rel="nofollow">Common Dreams</a>.<br /><ol><li>The <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fewer-working-age-americans-working-20179477">labor participation rate</a> -- the percentage of adult Americans with a job or seeking one — is at 63.2 percent, the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fewer-working-age-americans-working-20179477">lowest in 35 years</a>.</li><li>There are an average of <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fewer-working-age-americans-working-20179477">three unemployed people for each job opening</a>.</li><li>The <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/unemployment-rate-relevant/">unemployment rate is between 1.5 and 1.8 times as high</a> now as it was six years ago for all groups.</li><li>Two-thirds of<a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/failed-policy-the-401k-shrinks-in-a-growing-economy-2/"> taxpayers with jobs saved nothing</a> in retirement plans in 2010.</li><li>3.8 million fewer people had<a href="http://3.8%20million%20from%202008%20to%202010/"> jobs</a> in 2010 than in 2008</li><li><a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/failed-policy-the-401k-shrinks-in-a-growing-economy-2/">Only a third of workers in their twenties have any</a><a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/failed-policy-the-401k-shrinks-in-a-growing-economy-2/"> form of retirement plan at work</a>, compared to 62 percent of workers in their fifties.</li><li>75 percent of Americans near retirement in 2010 had an average of less than $30,000 saved for retirement. </li><li>Among all adult workers, only <a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/failed-policy-the-401k-shrinks-in-a-growing-economy-2/">43 percent say they have a vested right to either their own money they saved or money their employer set aside for them</a>.</li><li>Since June 2009, <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/unemployment-rate-relevant/" rel="nofollow">the public sector has lost 754,000 jobs</a>.</li><li>One out of every five American children now <a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-05.pdf">lives in poverty</a>.</li><li>Nearly half the births in the United States are paid for by <a href="http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2013/09/nearly-half-of-births-in-the-u-s-are-covered-by-medicaid-study-finds/" rel="nofollow">Medicaid</a>.</li><li>The number of college grads working for minimum wage has <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/03/30/number-of-the-week-college-grads-in-minimum-wage-jobs/">doubled</a> in just five years.</li><li>College tuition has risen <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/02-0#.UinZRU81MxU.facebook" rel="nofollow">10 times faster than the median family income</a> in the U.S. </li><li>The percentage of Americans aged 75 to 84 <a href="http://the%20percentage%20of%20elderly%20%2875%20to%2084%29%20americans%20experiencing%20poverty%20for%20the%20first%20time%20doubled%20from%202005%20to%202009./" rel="nofollow">falling into poverty</a> for the first time doubled from 2005 to 2009.</li><li>Workers have <a href="http://nelp.3cdn.net/24befb45b36b626a7a_v2m6iirxb.pdf" rel="nofollow">30 percent less</a> buying power today than they had in 1968.</li><li>Since the 2008 recession, only about <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/12800-living-up-to-the-new-deal-half-the-nation-is-still-waiting">one-fifth</a> of new jobs are going to women.</li></ol><br /><br /><div><div itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima-nova, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div></div>

economy Jobs retirement wages 16 facts about jobs in America that will make your blood boil

The unemployment rate is down to 7.3 percent we learned today, but that isn't good news. The reason the jobless rate fell is that more people gave up looking for work.Times are tough for most people in America today, as huge corporations such as Walm…

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Today's Teamster News 09.03.13

<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/318795-five-reasons-for-optimism-about-unions-this-labor-day#ixzz2dDzjgGWO" rel="nofollow">Five reasons for optimism about unions this Labor Day</a> (opinion) The Hill   ...most Americans hold favorable views of unions. According to a June 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center, 51 percent of Americans hold favorable views of labor unions, a 10 percent increase from the number in the same poll conducted two years earlier...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/02/workers-are-better-off-now-than-in-1894_n_3829698.html" rel="nofollow">9 Ways We're Better Off Now Than We Were On The First Labor Day (And 5 Ways We're Not)</a>  Huffington Post   ...The federal minimum wage, <a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/minimumwage.htm">which currently stands at 7.25 an hour</a>, is <a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/raising-minimum-wage-to-9-not-enough-to-ensure-that-families-with-fulltime-workers-live-above-poverty-line">not enough to keep American families out of poverty</a>, according to the Center For Economic And Policy Research...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-elk/union-busting-ended-my-lo_b_217015.html" rel="nofollow">Union Busting Ended My Love Affair with a Beer</a>  Huffington Post   ...Yuengling had illegally busted their union...<br /><a href="http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/guest-commentary/guest-commentary-labor-day-message-we-can-fix-this/article_407f64db-5bfd-5d60-b78d-e0d8ddb8f0a2.html" rel="nofollow">Labor Day message: We can fix this</a> (opinion)  NWI   ...We must embrace the new worker activism we see popping up at places like fast-food chains and retail establishments whose workers merely hope to raise their families on a livable wage...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-mccartin/labor-day-2013-religion-workers-rights_b_3854319.html" rel="nofollow">"What's Outrageous? Poverty Wages!" The Role of Religious Leaders in Worker Justice </a> Huffington Post   ...The faith leaders now rallying to support fast food workers' demands for a living wage are reviving one of America's oldest and most powerful arguments for social justice, one deeply rooted in religious ideals...<br /><a href="http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2013/09/gdp-drag-from-state-and-local.html" rel="nofollow">GDP drag from State and Local Governments</a>  Calculated Risk   ...However state and local government spending has made a negative contribution for 13 of the last 14 quarters...<br /><a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10631" rel="nofollow">Wall Street Eager to See Larry Summers Nominated Fed Chair </a> Real News   ...if you had to trace the collapse of the 2007-2009 financial crisis on one person--and, of course, you can't really trace it to one person--but if you did, I think you could make a fair argument that Larry Summers is more to blame for the financial crisis that we experienced than any other person...<br /><div><a href="http://www.nationalmemo.com/making-too-big-to-fail-banks-help-poor-borrowers/" rel="nofollow">Making ‘Too Big To Fail’ Banks Help Poor Borrowers</a> (opinion)  The National Memo   ...Predatory lenders are folding fast in New York State, thanks to a savvy banking regulator who takes his duty to protect the public as seriously as his duties to the financial industry — and knows how to use the law to get quick action...<br /><div><a href="http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/09/01/director-of-dia-selling-art-tantamount-to-closing-museum/" rel="nofollow">DIA Director: Selling Art Tantamount To Closing Museum</a>  CBS Detroit   ...Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has stated that the some of the art could be sold as part of the city’s bankruptcy deal Beal says the art being considered as “assets” are those that were bought by Detroit between 1922 and 1931– that’s about 3,300 pieces...<br /><a href="http://www.plunderbund.com/2013/08/23/ohio-gop-grassroots-lead-to-billionaire/" rel="nofollow">Ohio GOP grassroots lead to billionaire</a>  Plunderbund   ...Americans for Prosperity. … That’s the right-wing outfit whose work is fashioned  by billionaire David Koch...<br /><br /></div></div>

banks Detroit bankruptcy Kochs Labor Day minimum wage tea party union-busting wages Today's Teamster News 09.03.13

Five reasons for optimism about unions this Labor Day (opinion) The Hill   ...most Americans hold favorable views of unions. According to a June 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center, 51 percent of Americans hold favorable views of labor unions, a 10 …

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What Should You Be Earning?

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ylhf4gxu6jTa0jnZRC8QboX7R3uTqVZrahUfAVgyer9y6Bpsc7IIAcDAn79C7PaFXZUUXNhloQt63jgq5HZ4i9Tazc-96J1pmXdk92_-Ph5OLLIoAtxwnwhRENtwYcznvvexodGEuhFj/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-09-02+at+9.30.19+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ylhf4gxu6jTa0jnZRC8QboX7R3uTqVZrahUfAVgyer9y6Bpsc7IIAcDAn79C7PaFXZUUXNhloQt63jgq5HZ4i9Tazc-96J1pmXdk92_-Ph5OLLIoAtxwnwhRENtwYcznvvexodGEuhFj/s320/Screen+shot+2013-09-02+at+9.30.19+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Follow the link in the last paragraph to use the calculator.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="tr_bq">Cross-posting from our friends at the <a href="http://www.epi.org/blog/your-pay/" rel="nofollow">Economic Policy Institute</a>:</div><blockquote>In honor of Labor Day, we made a little tool—based on our project inequality.is—that shows how much you would be making if wages had kept pace with productivity, a key indicator of an economy working for all. </blockquote><blockquote>Economic inequality is a real and growing problem in America. Since the 1979, workers are working more, making more goods, and not reaping the rewards of their increased productivity. Instead, CEOs and executives—the top 1% of earners—now take home 20% of the nation’s income. </blockquote><blockquote>But it doesn’t have to be like this. Growing inequality isn’t an inevitability—it was created. It’s the result of intentional policy decisions on taxes, trade, labor, and financial regulation. But that’s the good news: if inequality is not inevitable, then it can be fixed. </blockquote><blockquote>Take a look, and share with your friends. And remember that American workers should be earning more than we are. To do something about it, visit inequality.is.</blockquote>Click <a href="http://www.epi.org/blog/your-pay/" rel="nofollow">here</a> to see the wage calculator.<br />

wages What Should You Be Earning?

Follow the link in the last paragraph to use the calculator.Cross-posting from our friends at the Economic Policy Institute:In honor of Labor Day, we made a little tool—based on our project inequality.is—that shows how much you would be making if wag…

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Today's Teamster News 09.02.13

<a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/labor-economics-101-few-jobs-means-bad-jobs" rel="nofollow">Labor Economics 101: Few Jobs Means Bad Jobs</a>  Center for Economics and Policy Research   ...because the economy is not generating decent jobs in any reasonable number, workers are forced to take bad jobs...<br /><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/01/5699124/calls-to-raise-minimum-wage-return.html" rel="nofollow">Calls to raise minimum wage return with Labor Day</a>  Associated Press   ...A recurring call to raise the minimum wage has returned in the run-up to Labor Day in the form of national rallies and a new report that finds Michigan ranks second-to-worst among states for wage growth during the past 30 years...<br /><a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/09/the-long-battle-for-a-living-wage-goes-on.html" rel="nofollow">The Battle for a Living Wage Goes On</a>  naked capitalism   ...The battle for a living wage for the nation’s poorest workers is set against the backdrop of mass unemployment and the highest level of economic inequality in the U.S. in almost a century...<br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/09/02/10-fastest-growing-jobs-in-usa/2750169/" rel="nofollow">10 fastest-growing jobs in the USA</a>  USA Today   ...For both petroleum engineers and service unit operators in the resource industry, the nation's two fastest-growing jobs, growth likely is due largely to changes in the energy sector...<div><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/31/best-paying-jobs-high-school-diploma_n_3847987.html" rel="nofollow">The 7 Best Paying Jobs With Only High School Diploma</a>  24/7 Wall Street   ...Subway and streetcar conductors, fashion designers, power distributors and dispatchers...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/richest-ceos-compensation-ceos_n_3825087.html" rel="nofollow">Taxpayer Dollars Paid A Third Of Richest Corporate CEOs: Report</a>  Huffington Post   ...More than one-third of the nation's highest-paid CEOs from the past two decades led companies that were subsidized by American taxpayers, according to a report released Wednesday by the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/opinion/sunday/the-hazard-of-free-trade-tobacco.html?ref=opinion&_r=0" rel="nofollow">The Hazard of Free-Trade Tobacco</a>  New York Times   ...Give thanks to Malaysia for heading off, at least temporarily, an American effort to weaken the ability of countries to impose stiff rules on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products within their own borders...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/aug/30/eurozone-unemployment-set-to-remain-high---business-live" rel="nofollow">Eurozone unemployment steady at 12.1% in July - as it happened</a>  The Guardian   ...Eurozone figures show youth unemployment edging higher...<br /><a href="https://www.aclu.org/national-security/federal-court-sides-aclu-no-fly-list-lawsuit" rel="nofollow">Federal Court Sides With ACLU in No Fly List Lawsuit</a>  ACLU   ...The suit challenges the process for attempting to get off the list as unfair, inadequate, and unconstitutional. The decision also asked the ACLU and the government to submit additional information about the No Fly List redress procedure in order to help the court decide the ultimate question of whether it satisfies the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process...<br /><a href="http://m.toledoblade.com/Columnists/2013/09/01/State-budget-is-gold-mine-for-rich-shaft-for-all-others.html" rel="nofollow">State budget is gold mine for rich, shaft for all others</a> (opinion)  Toledo Blade   ...the richest one percent of Ohioans will net a yearly tax cut of nearly $6,000, Middle class taxpayers who earn $51,000 will see a whopping cut of $9. And some of the poorest Ohioans will see their taxes go up...<br /><a href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-09-01/news/fl-florida-gains-jobs-loses-wages-20130902_1_wages-new-jobs-florida-international-university" rel="nofollow">Floridians finding jobs, but often at low wages</a>  Sun-Sentinel   ...wages are stagnant or dropping, except for the top 10 percent of households, while health-care and other costs are rising...</div>

bailout CEO Pay European debt crisis Florida Ohio spying taxes TPP wages Today's Teamster News 09.02.13

Labor Economics 101: Few Jobs Means Bad Jobs  Center for Economics and Policy Research   ...because the economy is not generating decent jobs in any reasonable number, workers are forced to take bad jobs...Calls to raise minimum wage return with Labo…

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A medieval peasant got more vacation than you

Unless you're a member of Congress, you get less vacation than a medieval peasant, Lynn Parramore writes in an opinion piece for <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/08/29/why-a-medieval-peasant-got-more-vacation-time-than-you/" rel="nofollow">Reuters</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Plowing and harvesting were backbreaking toil, but the peasant enjoyed anywhere from eight weeks to half the year off. The Church, mindful of how to keep a population from rebelling, enforced frequent mandatory holidays. Weddings, wakes and births might mean a week off quaffing ale to celebrate, and when wandering jugglers or sporting events came to town, the peasant expected time off for entertainment. There were labor-free Sundays, and when the plowing and harvesting seasons were over, the peasant got time to rest, too. In fact, economist Juliet Shor found that during periods of particularly high wages, such as 14th-century England, peasants might put in no more than 150 days a year.</blockquote>What happened?<br /><br /><ol><li>The U.S. has no national vacation policy;</li><li>High unemployment and less job security;</li><li>Corporate greed. </li></ol>You probably knew that. But did you know Congress has <a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/38177/want-a-job-with-239-vacation-days-become-a-member-of-congress" rel="nofollow">239 days off </a>this year?<br /><br />

Vacation wages A medieval peasant got more vacation than you

Unless you're a member of Congress, you get less vacation than a medieval peasant, Lynn Parramore writes in an opinion piece for Reuters:Plowing and harvesting were backbreaking toil, but the peasant enjoyed anywhere from eight weeks to half the year…

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Today's Teamster News 09.01.13

<a href="http://business.time.com/2013/08/30/this-labor-day-much-of-america-will-be-laboring/" rel="nofollow">This Labor Day, Much of America Will Be . . . Laboring</a>  Time   ...39 percent of employers will keep operations open and require some workers to come into work, while a seperate survey of Beyond.com users says that 45% of those folks will spend Labor Day working or looking for work...<br /><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/30/2556301/burrito-chain-pays-entry-level-workers-10-hour-pay/" rel="nofollow">The Burrito Chain That Pays Entry-Level Workers $10 An Hour And Wants To Pay More </a> ThinkProgress   ...Boloco, a Boston-based burrito chain, pays its entry-level workers anywhere from $9 to $11 an hour, most of them making $10, with many who advance into higher roles making $17 an hour or more, CEO John Pepper told Fox Business News...<br /><a href="http://progressive.org/Wisconsin-republicans-ban-public-for-miles-from-mine" rel="nofollow">Wis. GOP to Ban Public for Miles from Mine</a>  The Progressive   ...A new bill to allow the Gogebic Taconite iron mining company to bar the public from using public access land on an eight-square-mile parcel near their proposed mine site. This is an area that attracts people from all over the country to enjoy the excellent trout fishing and hunting...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/business/income-gap-grows-wider-and-faster.html?partner=yahoofinance&_r=1&" rel="nofollow">Income Gap Grows Wider (and Faster)</a>  New York Times   ...when average wages grow faster than the median, as happened from 2009 through 2011, it means that lower earners are falling further behind those at the top...<br /><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/30/freedom-from-jobs/" rel="nofollow">Freedom From Jobs</a>  Counterpunch   ... though some gains have certainly been made over the past half-century toward a more inclusive, egalitarian society, in many respects – particularly in economic matters – there has been little or no progress whatsoever...<br /><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/08/longshore_union_pulls_out_of_n.html#incart_flyout_business" rel="nofollow">Longshore union pulls out of national AFL-CIO, citing attacks at Northwest grain terminals</a>  The Oregonian   ...The West Coast longshore union is pulling out of the national AFL-CIO, citing "attacks" in which the umbrella organization's members blatantly cross picket lines at Northwest grain terminals...<br /><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/why-wall-street-wants-larry-summers-why-rest-180751330.html" rel="nofollow">Why Wall Street Wants Larry Summers (and Why the Rest of Us Should Not)</a>  Yahoo Finance!   ...Our recent near-death experience under Alan Greenspan’s anti-regulation Fed chairmanship, aided and abetted by the deregulation pushed by Summers, should cause the President to think hard about banking regulation...<br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/08/27/nsa-snowden-russia-obama-column/2702461/" rel="nofollow">NSA intimidation expanding surveillance state: Column </a> USA Today   ...If you run a business, and the FBI or NSA want to turn it into a mass surveillance tool, they believe they can do so, solely on their own initiative. They can force you to modify your system. They can do it all in secret and then force your business to keep that secret. Once they do that, you no longer control that part of your business...<br /><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-08-30/slavery" rel="nofollow">Slavery! </a> zero hedge   ...There are more slaves today working in the world than ever before...<br /><br />

AFL-CIO inequality Labor Day Larry Summers March on Washington public lands slavery spying wages Today's Teamster News 09.01.13

This Labor Day, Much of America Will Be . . . Laboring  Time   ...39 percent of employers will keep operations open and require some workers to come into work, while a seperate survey of Beyond.com users says that 45% of those folks will spend Labor …

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Where have America's wages gone?

America's wages have gone to greedy CEOs, a lot of whom are incompetent or crooks.<br /><br />The <a href="http://epi.org/" rel="nofollow">Economic Policy Institute</a> has just put out a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/where-have-americas-wages_b_3833375.html?utm_hp_ref=politics" rel="nofollow">study</a> showing that most of the wealth created in this country has gone to the top one percent. As R.J. Eskow notes in the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/where-have-americas-wages_b_3833375.html?utm_hp_ref=politics" rel="nofollow">Huffington Post</a>,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We don't have a problem of inadequate wealth. The problem is inadequate wealth distribution. For 99 percent of Americans, wage growth has lagged significantly behind increases in productivity. As the authors note, this is true "regardless of occupation, gender, race/ethnicity, or education level." Since the Great Recession productivity has grown by 7.7 percent, while wages have actually fallen for the bottom 70 percent of earners.</blockquote>It isn't as if those one percenters deserve it. A devastating new <a href="http://www.ips-dc.org/reports/executive-excess-2013" rel="nofollow">report</a> by the Institute for Policy Studies shows that 40 percent of the highest paid CEOs were either fired, bailed out or led companies that had to pay huge fines or settlements for breaking the law.<br /><br />Eskow says it's hopeless to try to convince Republicans to do anything about the inequality destroying our country.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Republicans are a lost cause. The Republican Party platform of 1956 boasted of union growth and Social Security expansion under President Eisenhower. But that party is long gone and there's little likelihood it will ever return. Democrats can be pressured by their base, with its preponderance of working people. Republicans who primarily rely on billionaire and/or Tea Party support are largely insulated from that kind of pressure (although there may be some opportunities for populist grassroots alliances).</blockquote>And he excoriates the so-called "centrist Democrats" who aid and abet billionaire-backed Republicans.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The word "centrist" is placed in quotation marks because polls show that their economic views are to the right of the American mainstream. On issues such as corporate taxation, Social Security benefits, and free trade, they stand to the right of most Americans -- and sometimes to the right of most registered Republicans. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Centrist" Dems actively participated in the deregulation of Wall Street, which led to runaway financialization of profits while putting the global economy at risk. They pushed free trade agreements that decimated American jobs (and failed to provide adequate rights for workers overseas), a practice which President Obama has continued. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Centrist" Dems remained silent as corporate leaders paid themselves constantly-inflating salaries and bonus packages, diluted shareholder oversight, and transformed corporations like GE from productive, job-creating entities into financial players fixated on quarterly results -- a fixation which has helped executive pay packages expand exponentially. </blockquote>He concludes: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">It will take a grassroots uprising to redirect the thinking of the "centrist" Democrats toward economic equality.</blockquote>The good news is that may be happening, given the thousands of workers who walked out on jobs at the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/la-port-strike-ends-with-return-to-work.html" rel="nofollow">ports</a>,<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/fast-food-strikes-shut-down-stores.html" rel="nofollow"> fast food restaurants and retail stores</a>.

CEO Pay wages Where have America's wages gone?

America's wages have gone to greedy CEOs, a lot of whom are incompetent or crooks.The Economic Policy Institute has just put out a study showing that most of the wealth created in this country has gone to the top one percent. As R.J. Eskow notes in t…

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11 shocking facts about US wages and taxes

1. U.S. corporate earnings<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/03/04/1665281/corporate-profits-worker-income/" rel="nofollow"> rose almost 20 times faster than workers' earnings</a> since the end of 2008. Corporate profit increased at an annualized rate of 20.1 percent but disposable income inched ahead by 1.4 percent annually over the same period, after adjusting for inflation.<br />2. <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/06/30/258388/corporate-profits-recovery/">88 percent</a> of national income growth went to corporate profits from 2009-11, while just one percent went to workers’ wages.<br />3. Total wages<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/03/news/economy/record-corporate-profits/"> fell to a record low of 43.5 percent of gross domestic product</a> in the third quarter of 2012. Until 1975, wages almost always accounted for at least half of GDP.<br /><div>4. In 1968, when the <a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10563" rel="nofollow">minimum wage was $10.65 an hour</a> (adjusted for inflation), the U.S. unemployment rate was half of what it is today, 3.7 percent vs. 7.5 percent.<br />5. The<a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10563" rel="nofollow"> minimum wage adjusted for a 135 percent increase in productivity</a> and inflation since 1968 should be $25 an hour.<br />6. Australia has a<a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10553" rel="nofollow"> minimum wage of $16</a> and the <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/08/08/australian-unemployment-big-issue-in-elections/" rel="nofollow">unemployment rate is 5.7 percent</a>, nearly two points lower than in the U.S.<br />7. The United States ranks<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/15/map-how-35-countries-compare-on-child-poverty-the-u-s-is-ranked-34th/" rel="nofollow"> 34th out of 35 developed countries</a> on child poverty (behind Romania).<br />8. <a href="http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/low-pay-keeps-millennials-stuck-home5319">36 percent of the nation's millennials</a> (ages 18 to 31) were living in a parent's home, the highest number in 40 years. 9. The United States has the <a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10563" rel="nofollow">second-lowest minimum wage</a> of 25 developed countries.<br />10. A 40-hour work week on minimum wage is <a href="http://www.geekosystem.com/40-hour-work-week-minimum-wage/" rel="nofollow">not enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment</a> anywhere in the United States.<br />11. Today, U.S. corporations supply less than 9 percent of federal revenue today because of tax avoidance. In 1952, the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/12/10/1308981/chart-corporate-profits-skyrocket-while-corporate-taxes-plummet/" rel="nofollow">corporate income tax accounted for about one third of of all federal tax revenue</a>.<br /><br /><br /></div>

corporate greed Jobs wages 11 shocking facts about US wages and taxes

1. U.S. corporate earnings rose almost 20 times faster than workers' earnings since the end of 2008. Corporate profit increased at an annualized rate of 20.1 percent but disposable income inched ahead by 1.4 percent annually over the same period, aft…

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