American CEOs Make 335 Times More Than Their Workers
And Verizon's CEO makes even more than that.
By Michael Arria / AlterNet
Shutterstock
This piece originally ran on AlterNet.
According to a new AFL-CIO study on corporate salaries, CEOs made 335 times more than the average employee salary last year.
The report, which identifies the average worker salary as $36,875, specifically cites Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam who made almost 500 times more than the average Verizon worker in 2015. A number of Verizon employees have been on strike for over a month now, in the largest U.S. work stoppage since 2011, and McAdam’s astronomical salary is frequently cited on the picket lines.
In a statement, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said that, “The income inequality that exists in this country is a disgrace.”
The report also points out that the highest paid CEOs come from companies with the largest offshore, untaxed profits, like Apple and Microsoft. Companies often justify such moves by claiming the United States has a high corporate income tax rate but, in actuality, it’s lower than many developed countries.
You can read the entire study at the AFL-CIO’s website.
Wait, before you go…If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.