Economic growth should benefit the workers who make it possible. But declining wages and pay gaps in Alabama’s auto manufacturing industry are costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars in labor income each year, a new Alabama Arise report found.
In The State of Working Alabama 2023, Arise assessed the results of the state’s 30-year drive to launch and grow its auto manufacturing industry. We found the industry has enhanced Alabama in many ways, employing more than 44,000 people and paying average wages that are higher than those for other workers in the state. We also found concerns about working conditions and persistent racial, gender and geographic pay disparities, even though Alabama automakers have received more than $1.6 billion in public incentives since 1993.
Read our news release on The State of Working Alabama 2023 here.
Read the full report here.
Our report explained how Alabama could build on the auto industry’s successes by centering workers in its economic development strategy. Among our key recommendations:
- Policymakers should strengthen the wage, benefit and accountability standards for tax incentives and other state and local subsidies.
- Alabama should boost investments in K-12 education, child care and workforce training.
- Automakers should raise worker pay to at least the same amount workers earned 20 years ago, adjusted for inflation.
- Automakers should eliminate pay disparities between men and women, between white people and people of color, and between workers in Alabama and other states.
- Employers and policymakers should recognize organized labor as a key partner in improving wages, working conditions, operations and productivity.
“Alabama has bet big on the auto industry, and we must ensure that bet benefits our state to the greatest extent possible,” said Dev Wakeley, Arise’s worker policy advocate and a report co-author. “Policymakers, employers, workers, unions and community partners all have vital roles to play in strengthening our state’s auto industry and economy. By working together, we can build a more prosperous and inclusive economy that improves life for every Alabamian.”
Read our news release on The State of Working Alabama 2023 here.
Read the full report here.
