[ [link removed] ]Stand with Sen. Merkley: Pay workers, not CEOs

Petition to Congress:
"Rein in inflated CEO pay and make sure workers receive their fair share.
Pass Sen. Merkley's Fair Share for Workers Act."

Add your name:

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition ►

Dear John,

[ [link removed] ]Stand with Sen.
Merkley: Pay workers, not
CEOs

Last year, the average CEO made more than 287 times their median employee
– and got a $500,000 pay bump when most Americans got less than $1,000.^1

This is Donald Trump's economy: great if you have a private jet, tough for
everyone else. But progressive Sen. Jeff Merkley has a plan to rein in CEO
pay by imposing a penalty on companies with the worst pay disparities, and
he needs our help to build support.^2

[ [link removed] ]Stand with Sen. Merkley: Pay workers, not CEOs. Click here to sign the
petition.

The pay disparity is even more appalling at McDonald's and other companies
that force workers to survive on poverty wages. The CEO of McDonald's made
2,124 times his employees' $7,473 median pay. Workers at The Gap only made
about $5,800 while the CEO made 3,566 times more. And controversial Tesla
CEO Elon Musk made 40,668 times more money than his median employee.^3

CREDO members fought for years to implement a tough Securities and
Exchange Commission rule forcing companies to report the ratio of CEO pay
to that of their median worker. Now that the rule is in effect, Americans
are finding out just how unequal their workplaces are.

It wasn’t always this way. In 1950, the CEO-to-median worker pay ratio was
20:1. It rose to 42-to-1 by 1980, and 120-to-1 by 2000. It has increased
by nearly 1,000% since 1978.^4 American workers are more productive than
ever but aren't seeing any benefits. We have Ronald Reagan, right-wing
economic policies and tax cuts like the Trump Tax Scam to thank for
creating a world where the richest 1% hoard all the wealth created by hard
labor.

[ [link removed] ]Stand with Sen. Merkley: Pay workers, not CEOs. Click here to sign the
petition.

These numbers explain why strikes are on the rise and unions are more
popular than ever. GM workers are currently striking for better treatment
and protections for temporary workers, and CREDO members are standing in
solidarity. The strike is putting a national spotlight on the company's
CEO, who earns $22 million each year. That's nearly $10,600 per hour, or
more than 281 times the median GM worker's pay.^5

Sen. Merkley's plan would impose a surtax on all companies with a ratio
worse than 30:1, with higher and higher penalties for bigger pay
disparities.^6 At a time when companies claim they cannot afford to
increase wages but are able to hand out giant checks to bigshot
executives, Sen. Merkley's proposal would force companies to pay workers
their fair share. We need to force every member of Congress to show where
they stand on CEO pay by getting behind this bill.

Stand with Sen. Merkley: Pay workers, not CEOs. Click the link below to
sign the petition:

[ [link removed] ][link removed]

Thank you for speaking out,

Heidi Hess, Co-Director
[ [link removed] ]CREDO Action from Working Assets

Add your name:

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition ►

References:

 1. Alexia Fernández Campbell, "[ [link removed] ]CEOs made 287 times more money last
year than their workers did," Vox, June 26, 2019.
 2. Sen. Jeff Merkley, "[ [link removed] ]Ahead of Labor Day, Merkley announces
legislation so workers gain, not just CEOs," Aug. 29, 2019.
 3. Fernández Campbell, "[ [link removed] ]CEOs made 287 times more money last year than
their workers did."
 4. Lawrence Mishel and Julia Wolfe, "[ [link removed] ]CEO compensation has grown 940%
since 1978," Economic Policy Institute, Aug. 14, 2019.
 5. Ben Klayman, "[ [link removed] ]GM CEO Barra's pay dipped slightly to just under $22
million in 2018," Reuters, April 18, 2019.
 6. Sen. Merkley, "[ [link removed] ]Ahead of Labor Day, Merkley announces legislation
so workers gain, not just CEOs."

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