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America Needs a Raise

Author
AFL-CIO Department of Economic Research
Abstract
[Excerpt] America needs a raise, in the worst kind of way. While productivity, profits, executive pay and the stock market keep going up, working family incomes keep going down, widening the gap between the rich and the rest of us and creating a dangerous atmosphere of social and economic conflict. Workers are having to labor harder and longer just to keep even, and more and more family members are having to work in order to maintain living standards. Working families have little money to spend, they are loaded with debt and they have no time to spend with their children. Threatened by restructuring, downsizing, pension raids, privatization schemes and runaway plants, their anger is exceeded only by anxiety over keeping their jobs. They are disgusted with business and government and their disillusionment is straining the fabric of our society.
Description
This paper is part of the AFL-CIO Reviews the Issues series, which is produced by the Economic Research Department of the AFL-CIO. Issues dated October 1995 (No. 84) and later are available online at this site with permission of the publisher. For paper copies please write to AFL-CIO Publication and Materials Office, 8125 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.
Date Issued
1996-02-19Subject
Key workplace documents; ILR; Catherwood; economic; AFL-CIO; Executive Council; productivity; profits; executive; pay; grassroots; minimum; income; wealth; workers; wage; union; trade
Rights
Required Publisher Statement: Copyright by the AFL-CIO. Document posted with special permission by the copyright holder.
Type
article