The AFL-CIO on July 14 released the 2021 edition of the Executive Paywatch report, revealing the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio at S&P 500 companies in Nevada was 290:1 in 2020. According to a press release from the union federation, that ratio is down from the 2019 mark of 392:1.
On average, Nevada CEOs at S&P 500 made $15.9 million in total compensation in 2020, down from $17.2 million in 2019, according to the report, which notes that compensation comprises salary, bonuses, nonequity incentives, restricted stock, stock options and retirement plans, among other factors. The AFL-CIO’s annual Executive Paywatch is billed as “the most comprehensive, searchable online database that has tracked CEO pay for more than two decades … (and) has been the leading source for exposing stagnant wages and the negative effects of inequality on America’s workers.” “Throughout the pandemic, our workers made decisions no one should ever face: go to work and possibly contract COVID-19, or stay home and risk losing a paycheck,” Nevada State AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rusty McAllister said in a statement. “CEOs and business owners labeled them as ‘heroes,’ and took slight temporary base salary reductions, but still made millions of dollars while hundreds of thousands of Nevadans suffered through layoffs and furloughs. “Though the ratio of executive pay to median employee decreased slightly in the last year, it still shows the outrageous pay inequity experienced by hard-working Nevadans who have built our state and keep it functioning every single day. We must rebuild our economy and our middle class, and close this chasm of wealth inequality if we want to fully recover from this pandemic — and unions offer an avenue to do so."
