Frequently Asked Questions
Common Questions
You're not being picky. The data shows you've earned less per year than workers with your experience in your area. That's not a feeling — it's a number.
National productivity has grown significantly while wages grew far less. The money exists. The question is who gets it.
For most private-sector workers, federal law (NLRA Section 7) protects your right to discuss wages and working conditions with coworkers. Retaliation is illegal, and there are federal processes to hold employers accountable. Government employees have separate protections under the Civil Service Reform Act. You have more legal backing than you think.
Union workers earn a 10% wage premium on average. In 2024, dockworkers won a 60% raise and Boeing machinists won 38%. The data is clear: asking works.
What Collective Action Has Won
East and Gulf Coast dockworkers won a contract raising wages over 60% across six years — and job protections against automation.
International Longshoremen's Association, 2024Boeing machinists struck and won a 38% general wage increase plus stronger retirement benefits.
International Association of Machinists, 2024AT&T workers won a five-year contract with a 20% across-the-board raise after a 30-day CWA strike.
Communications Workers of America, 2024Union representation grew by 463,000 workers in 2025 — 16.5 million covered, the highest number in 16 years.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025Key Statistics
A CEO at a top firm now makes 281 times what a typical worker earns. In 1965, it was 21 to 1. — Economic Policy Institute, 2025
37% of American adults would not cover a $400 emergency expense using cash or savings alone. The problem is not your budgeting. It is your paycheck. — Federal Reserve SHED, 2023