“Right to Work,” by the Numbers: Part 9: Previously Uninsured Americans Who Now Receive Health Insurance through the Federal Exchanges Established under the Affordable Care Act

  Uninsured, by State, in August 2014: Source: Gallup Well-Being Index [http://www.well-beingindex.com/].   Uninsured, by County, in August 2014: Source: Enroll America [https://www.enrollamerica.org/research-maps/maps/changes-in-uninsured-rates-by-county/]   Percentages Using Federal Exchanges: Source: Washington Center for Equitable Growth [http://equitablegrowth.org/interactive/aca-beneficiaries/] __________________________ Previous posts in this series have included: Part 1: Population Growth and Movement: https://academeblog.org/2013/04/03/2666/. Part 2: Immigration: https://academeblog.org/2013/04/21/right-to-work-by-the-numbers-part-2/. Part…

The Ohio AAUP and the Repeal of Senate Bill 5

This is a guest post by John McNay, a contributor to the May–June issue of Academe. McNay  is a professor of history at the University of Cincinnati–Blue Ash. A specialist on the Cold War, he has published books and articles on that period, but his most recent book is Collective Bargaining and the Battle of Ohio: The…

New Issue of the Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, Part 2

The most recent issue of the Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy is available at http://thekeep.eiu.edu/jc. The issue includes two op-eds and four articles. Here are excerpts from the second through fourth articles: Hicks, Steve (2014) “Post-Recession CBAs: A Study of Wage Increases in the Agreements of Four State-wide Faculty Unions,” Journal of Collective…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 1

Declining Union Membership “Over the last three decades, U.S. labor union membership has fallen by nearly half, even though more Americans are actually in favor of unionization. “Some 11% of all wage and salary workers in 2014 were in a union — down from 22% in 1983 after peaking at nearly 35% in 1954, according…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 2

Workers’ Pay Is Still Higher in Pro-Labor States “Under federal law, no one can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment, and the Supreme Court has made clear that workers cannot be forced to pay dues used for political purposes. So-called right-to-work (RTW) legislation goes one step further and entitles employees to the…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 3

Record Corporate Profit Margins “One item that hasn’t gotten much attention lately is corporate profit margins, which are near record highs. Since the financial crisis, companies have been cutting operating costs, trimming debt, and increasing exposure overseas — all actions that have boosted margins. But as the bull market and economic recovery have aged, we have heard…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 4

Soaring CEO Compensation “America’s corporate leaders have recovered nicely since the recession. The average worker? Not so much. “The annual pay for CEOs soared 12.1% last year, the fastest increase since 2010 and up from a median increase of just 1.6% in 2013, according to an analysis by professional services firm Towers Watson & Co.…