DEM LAWMAKER RALLIES TO TACKLE INCOME INEQUALITY
Maine CEOs earn more than $2 million; average worker makes $37,000
AUGUSTA – Democratic State Senator John Patrick led hundreds of Maine workers at a rally urging economic fairness during legislative Labor Lobby Day.
Standing in front of the labor mural at the Maine State Museum, Senator Patrick of Rumford said:
“Working people are the backbone of our economy. Everyday 700,000 Maine people get up, go to work, and keep our state running. They make our state a great place to live. Yet, everywhere I go in my district people feel squeezed in this economy.
The biggest issue I hear over and over again is that people’s incomes are not keeping up with the cost of living. I want Maine to be a state of opportunity, where hard work and playing by the rules provide working families a good life.”
Senator Patrick sponsored a bill, LR 1006: “An Act to Reduce Income Inequality,” that would require Maine companies with more than 100 employees to annually disclose to the Maine Department of Labor (DOL) the ratio between the
Sen. John Patrick of Rumford speaking at Labor Lobby Day rally
company’s total compensation for its CEO and the total compensation of its lowest paid full-time employee. The data would be compiled by the DOL and reported to the state’s Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development committee.
The average CEO in Maine earns more than $2 million whereas the average Maine worker makes $37,000.
“When corporate CEOs make more on their first day than workers make in an entire year, you know something is wrong. When some CEOs make 331 times the pay of workers, you know something is wrong,” added who Sen. Patrick who serves on the state’s Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee. “To build an economy that works for everyone and not just the wealthy few, we have to improve wages and tackle inequality. Shining a spotlight on the growing gap between CEO and average worker pay is one small way to do that.”
The bill, LR 1006: “An Act to Reduce Income Inequality,” should be assigned a legislative document or LD number and referred to the Labor, Commerce, Research and Development committee in the coming days.
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