August Newsletter – Unions: The Key to Leveling the Playing Field
Dear friends:
Do you know how much more the nation’s top CEOs made compared to their workers last year? Twenty times more? Fifty times more? One hundred times more?
Actually, the average S&P 500 CEO made 285 times what the median worker made in 2024, a 7% increase over the prior year with a whopping $18.9 million each in total compensation on average.
As if this vast inequality wasn’t bad enough: at a time when many workers are struggling to pay our bills, President Trump just handed America’s CEOs another massive tax break with his budget reconciliation bill, or as we like to call it, the “big, ugly bill.”
And we all know how Trump is paying for this gift to billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg: by making gigantic cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and other services we need—cuts that will slash hundreds of thousands of jobs in our communities.
The CEOs listed in the AFL-CIO’s Executive Paywatch report will be able to skip out on paying a combined $738 million in income taxes, thanks to the big, ugly budget reconciliation bill. How does that break down for workers?
That money could pay for:
- Medicaid health care for 81,028 working people;
- SNAP food assistance for 328,877 working families; or
- School lunches for 925,508 students.
Read the AFL-CIO’s 2025 Executive Paywatch Report to see the numbers for yourself.
During the peak of union membership in the 1960s, the CEO-to-worker pay ratio was just 21-to-1. If we want to level the playing field and make sure workers earn their fair share, everyone needs the opportunity to join a union.
The wealthiest CEOs in America are profiting from the Trump administration’s policies while workers are fighting for their lives. In fact, last week, the Trump administration’s Department of Labor proposed repealing 60 rules that currently protect worker safety on the job.
The Trump administration called these rules “obsolete” – but we know better. Corporations will not protect workers from harmful substances or pay home health care workers minimum wage without someone there to make them. Women and minorities will be disproportionately impacted by these rollbacks. Contractors will no longer have to ensure adequate lighting at construction sites. Mine workers will have no guarantee of ventilation standards.
Another proposal limits OSHA’s reach, prohibiting employers from prohibiting, restricting or penalizing employers for “inherently risky professional activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic, or entertainment occupations.” Whether you are a dancer, an electrician, or zookeeper, the DOL’s proposed rule changes put all of our lives at stake.
However, we can and will fight back — unions can continue to bargain for important safety provisions, hold our federal and local government’s accountable through legislative and legal action, and as a constituent, you can fight union busting by asking Congress to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act.
Here in Illinois, the General Assembly passed the Workers’ Rights and Safety Act, which could limit the impact of these rule changes for our state. This act would prevent state agencies from weakening safety standards below those set by federal law as of January 2025. The bill is now waiting for the Governor’s signature – stay tuned for updates.
In solidarity,
Tim Drea and Pat Devaney
