Median Income Rises, But Not Fast Enough

During a rally in Homestead in July of 2012, USW President Leo W. Gerard stated, “At this point in our economic history, at this point in the evolution of America, and at this point in global economic history, the gap between the rich and the rest of us is the greatest it’s ever been.” 

Other comments made by Gerard at this same rally indirectly referenced Census Bureau statistics:  Those stats show that the top 5 percent of wage earners saw their inflation-adjusted median income grow by 45 percent between 1985 and 2010.  But during the same period, workers in the bottom two-fifths of earners saw median income rise just 3 percent.  

These statistics demonstrate, President Gerard said,  “I can’t guarantee that we’ll win every fight.  But I’ll guarantee that if we don’t fight, we’ll lose.”