CWA Union: Worker Productivity Report
September 2nd, 2009
Hello team members ~
Time magazine today (9.2.09) summarized a recent Labor Department report
showing that worker productivity, the amount of worker output per hour
of work, rose at an annual rate of 6.6 percent in the April-June
quarter. In a perfect world of capitalism, our compensation would
increase by this amount. Yet labor costs actually fell at an annual rate
of 5.9 percent.
While these are national averages, most of us can feel the pain here at
home. Due to the state's hiring freeze, many of us are shouldering extra
duties that likely match the 6.6 percent increase in output. We did not
get a pay bump in July 2009 due to the financial crisis, which would
generally run close to 3 percent. Instead we were hit with a 1.5 percent
reduction in take home pay. This equals an approximate 4.5 percent
downward swing. Our 2008 increase was a couple percentage points below
our annual growth rate in productivity as well. These compensation
losses approximate the 5.9 percent national figure.
Yet if employees have increased their productivity by 6.6 percent more
per hour, adding products and services to the market, yet receive 5.9
percent less in compensation, where is this EXTRA (around 12.5 percent)
money going?
You'll have to figure that out for yourself! Be sure to visit our sister union
website at www.BeatTheSqueeze.com or click on the CWA Union tab on the
WCA internal website.
In unity ...
Scott Goold, WCA Agency VP
article source:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1919992,00.html
