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Bernie Sanders Takes Aim at Work Inequality in Labor Day Index

  • Labor Day protests in the U.S.

    Labor Day protests in the U.S. | Photo: Reuters

Published 7 September 2015
Opinion

The op-ed in the LA Times begins saying that in order to afford an average two-bedroom apartment in L.A. a full-time worker must earn US$27.38 an hour.

To mark U.S. Labor Day Monday, left-leaning Democrat presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders released a report of damning statistics about the state of the country’s workforce in 2015.

The op-ed in the LA Times, titled “Bernie Sanders’ Labor Day Index,” begins with the revelation that in order to afford an average two-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, a full-time worker must earn US$27.38 an hour, which is 3.04 times the US$9-an-hour national average.

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What’s more, the gallery of facts points out that the number of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. has fallen from 17.3 million to 12.1 million in the last 15 years.

The shocking data explains to a certain extent why 41 percent of the entire wealth of the U.S. is owned by the top 1 percent, and the bottom 60 percent own just 2 percent.

The report then takes aim at inequality in the labor force, showing women earn US$85 less each week in 2015 than their male counterparts, and that whereas 51.8 percent of Black high school graduates are unemployed, 33.8 percent of white young people of the same educational level are jobless.

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Concentration of wealth is another topic explored, as Sanders divulges the massive difference in pay between the CEO of Discovery Communications – US$156 million, and the median salary – US$80,000. The shocking data explains to a certain extent why 41 percent of the entire wealth of the U.S. is owned by the top 1 percent, and the bottom 60 percent own just 2 percent.

The index also points out that while every single Canadian and Israeli has health insurance, 11.7 percent of U.S. citizens went without for at least part of the year in 2013.

Sanders has focused on labor rights, as well as racial justice, in his campaign to become the Democratic candidate for president in 2016. He runs against Hillary Clinton for the position.

It is expected that President Barack Obama will sign an executive order on Labor Day demanding sick leave for employees of federal contractors, 300,000 of whom currently receive none.

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