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income families make ends meet. They
also help maintain and create jobs,
because low-income earners tend to
spend that money quickly and locally.”
Last October, the state Employment
Department reported that there were
about 121,000 jobs which paid wages
less then $8.50. The wage increase will
mean these workers will earn $208 more
in 2011.
Earlier in 2010, OCCP reported on
the rising income inequality in Oregon,
saying, “While CEOs in Oregon are still
cashing huge paychecks, the fallout from
the Great Recession has ratcheted up the
pressure on Oregon workers.”
The OCCP report detailed the stagnant
wages that Oregon’s workers face: “The
average hourly wages for median-wage
workers was $15.85 in 2009, down from
$16.09 in 2001 and lower still the 1979
levels of $16.12,” when both figures are
adjusted for inflation. They compared
this with the pay levels of the top 1
percent of Oregon’s economy. The 40
highest-paid CEOs of Oregon-based
public companies in 2009 earned an
average salary of $1.9 million — nearly
40 times the average annual earnings of
Oregon workers, says OCCP.
OCCP sees union membership as an
aid in battling income inequality: “Data
for 2003-07 show that the typical worker
in Oregon got a 16.5 percent wage boost
by being in a union, while the lowest-
paid workers saw a wage gain of 21.1
percent.” OCCP sees a rise in Oregon’s
unionized workers force (last year was
the third year in a row that Oregon’s
unionization rate rose) as a “ray of hope”
in Oregon’s gloomy economic times.
OCPP does note that only 17 percent of
Oregon’s workforce is unionized.
Unionization is clearly a tool of
equality; and income equality, according
to Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, is
about more than just economics; it's
about how income equality brings us
closer to our democratic ideals.
— Philip Shackleton
lighten up
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Have you heard the latest idea from congressional Republicans for lowering medical
costs? If an X-ray reveals a serious medical problem the insurance company will only
have to pay to have the X-ray touched up.
— Rafael Aldave, Eugene
The Eugene Waldorf School & the Eugene Public Library present
the th Annual
Alternative Education Fair
Saturday, January , 1 - pm
at the Eugene Public Library, Downtown
1 West 1 th Avenue
HomeSource • Eugene Waldorf School • West Lane Technical
Learning Center • Willamette Leadership Academy • Oak Hill
School • The Little French School • Ridgeline Montessori
Public Charter • Eugene School District 4J • The Village School
Network Charter School and many more!
Find out about the educational alternatives available
in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information,
call the Eugene Waldorf School, 541-683-6951
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
EUGENE WEEKLY
JANUARY 27, 2011 9