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CEO pay is out of control.
CEO pay
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Wage suppression in 10 charts

Wages for typical workers have been largely suppressed since the 1970s while wages for the top 1% skyrocketed. This was not inevitable. It was a policy choice. And this rising inequality is the root cause of today’s affordability challenges.

We break it down in 10 charts →

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CEO-to-worker pay has skyrocketed over the last six decades

CEO pay grew 14% in 2025 as CEOs were paid 325 times as much as the typical worker. 

It hasn’t always been this way.

In 1965—when workers had more power—CEOs were paid 21 times as much as a typical worker.

Policymakers can rein in excessive CEO pay through more progressive tax policy, corporate governance reforms, and strengthened labor standards, including laws that make it easier for workers to unionize.

Read more →

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71% of people in the U.S. approve of unions

New Gallup polling finds that 71% of people in the U.S. approve of unions, continuing the highest period of favorability in over 60 years. This coincides with the greatest number of workers represented by a union in 16 years.

The Gallup polling also showed that unions are favorable across generations and party lines.

Get the fact sheet →

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States with 'right-to-work' laws have lower unionization rates and more anti-worker policies

So-called right-to-work (RTW) laws undermine workers’ ability to form unions. Unionization rates are lower in RTW states—and since unions raise wages, that suppression lowers pay. 

Non-RTW states are more likely to have pro-worker policies like higher minimum wages and prevailing wage laws, restrictions on noncompete agreements, pay transparency policies, and more protective unemployment insurance benefits.

Lawmakers already have the policy tools they need to boost wages and improve other outcomes for workers. 

Here’s what can be done →

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