Public Employee Press

Editorials
Low wage workers left behind

The Great Recession is officially over. And an economic recovery is supposedly underway.

Unfortunately, low-wage workers continue to be left behind even as the economy appears to be improving. Our outrage over this economic injustice is one of the reasons we support the Fight for $15 movement and stepped up our contract campaign at CUNY, where thousands of members earn less than $15 an hour.

Real median hourly wages - pay adjusted for inflation - fell 4.0 percent from 2009 to 2014 for everyone, according to the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group for low-wage workers.

But the workers with lower-wage and mid-wage jobs have been hit the hardest. Their pay fell by 4.0 percent or more, while the top 40 percent of workers saw declines ranging from 2.6 percent to 3.0 percent.

The disappearance of union jobs and the long-term decline in labor's share of productivity are principal factors that explain why the economy is broken.

After four decades of wage stagnation, the American people are fed up with this economic malaise. The relentless financial squeeze on working families has made wage inequality a major issue in the presidential race - at least among Democrats.

As we mobilize for the 2016 presidential election, we certainly will speak out forcefully in favor of such policies, which would significantly help working families.