Greedflation is causing economic woes

In July, the AFL-CIO posted its findings for CEO-to-worker-pay ratios using data from 2021. The ratio was 264-to-one in pre-pandemic 2019 and 299-to-one in 2020 before it shot up to 324-to-one in 2021.

CEOs and corporations raked in record profits during the pandemic while the rest of the world suffered. Average CEO pay at companies in the S & P 500 Index rose 18.2 percent in 2021, while average hourly earnings for workers fell 2.4 percent after adjusting for inflation. So the cost of everything went up and workers’ wages went down, but CEO pay hit record high

During a pandemic when all working people were asked to make sacrifices and risk their lives, consumers were asked to make sacrifices and communities were asked to make sacrifices, CEOs and corporations laughed all the way to the bank. Instead of investing in their workforces by raising wages and keeping the cost of their goods and services down, they instead opted to take their greed to the next level.

Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern took the top prize, raking in over $296 million in compensation. Amazon had the highest CEO-to-worker pay ratio in the S & P 500 Index with a ratio of 6,474-to-one.

Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy received $212.7 million in compensation while Amazon’s median worker earned $32,855. Yes, this is the same Amazon that violated the rights of its workers when they were organizing a union. This is the same Amazon that keeps telling us over and over how unions are bad and how it takes care of its employees. Please, Amazon — just give us a break.

Starbucks Corp. CEO Kevin Johnson scooped in over $20 million in compensation while Starbucks fought their employees tooth and nail in an attempt to keep them from organizing unions.

McDonalds Corp. CEO Christopher Kempczinski was compensated over $20 million while fast food workers for years have battled to make a living wage and have safe working conditions.

Deere & Co. CEO John May made close to $20 million in compensation. You may recall workers in many Deere plants had to go on strike in order to receive fair wages and working conditions. Now, Deere says it will move some product lines to Mexico even after record profits.

Then we have good old Walmart CEO Doug McMillon cashing in over $26 million in compensation. Walmart for many years has been known to pay their employees as little as legally possible all the while fighting every effort by its workers to form a union.

If you wonder what other S & P 500 executives are making, you can find out at https://aflcio.org/paywatch

For far too long CEOs and corporations have brainwashed people into thinking we need them but they do not need us workers. They are wrong and always have been.

The fact of the matter is they need us much more than we need them. Very few of them can do the work we do and without workers they have no way to make their outlandish compensation packages. Union organizing is the answer.

Rick Moyle is executive director of the Hawkeye Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO