FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sara Wallenfang
swallenfang@aflcio.org
Michigan CEOs Paid 171 Times Average Worker, 455 Times Minimum Wage Worker
2014 Executive PayWatch exposes high paid CEOs in the low wage economy www.PayWatch.org
(Michigan; April 15, 2014) – According to the AFL-CIO’s 2014 Executive PayWatch website, the average CEO of a company based in Michigan made $7,004,386, which is 171 times more than the $40,898 earned by the average Michigan worker. When compared to the earnings of full time minimum wage workers who make $15,392 per year in Michigan, the gap between CEO and worker pay jumps up to a 455:1 ratio.
This year, the highest paid CEO in the state of Michigan is Brett A. Roberts of Credit Acceptance Corp. He makes 1,327 times more than the average worker and 3,526 times more than minimum wage workers in Michigan.
While many companies may argue that they can’t afford to raise wages, across the country the nation’s largest companies are earning higher profits per employee than they did five years ago. In 2013, the S&P 500 Index companies earned $41,249 in profits per employee, a 38% increase.
“Here in Michigan, we realize that the surest path to fairer wages is collective bargaining. We also support any effort to raise wages for all workers. CEO PayWatch is an effective tool to show workers that it is time for CEOs to compensate their hard working employees fairly once and for all,” said Karla Swift, Michigan State AFL-CIO President.
Many of the CEOs highlighted in PayWatch head companies, like Walmart, that are notorious for paying low wages. Meanwhile, U.S. CEOs – the highest paid in the world – pocketed an average of $11.7 million in 2013. That means CEOs were paid 331 times that of the average worker and 774 times more than workers making minimum wage.
“CEO Executive PayWatch calls attention to the insane level of compensation for CEOs, while the workers who create those corporate profits struggle for enough money to take care of the basics,” said Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO. “This database is relevant to every community in the country. And we’ll use this data to organize and mobilize to lift millions of workers out of poverty and to strengthen the middle class.”
PayWatch is the most comprehensive searchable online database tracking the excessive pay of CEOs of the nation’s largest companies. It offers visitors to the website the unique ability to compare their own pay to the pay of top executives. This year, PayWatch highlights five low wage companies through worker testimonials at Walmart, Kellogg’s, Reynolds, Darden Restaurants and T-Mobile.
###
