I don’t have to tell you that income inequality is a major problem in this country. The richest ten percent of Americans now control two-thirds of the nation’s wealth. This startling fact has inspired a new research project at In the Public Interest to show how outsourcing exacerbates the problem by reducing wages and benefits for workers while corporate CEOs rake in more than ever. 

But we need your help by sending real stories to shabibi@inthepublicinterest.org.  Stories like this:

• In Grand Rapids, Michigan, a state-run home that serves veterans employs both public and contracted nursing assistants. The difference between public and outsourced jobs is stark.  Ginny Townsend, a contracted nursing assistant, gets paid $10 per hour. That is half of what the public employee nurses make despite performing the same work.  With four small grandchildren to support, she must collect $300 in food stamps each month to make ends meet.

• Several years ago, the Metro School Board in Nashville, Tennessee, outsourced custodial and grounds keeping jobs to GCA Services Group, which resulted in degraded jobs for the nearly 700 affected positions.  Daytime custodians were compensated $19.60 per hour in wages and benefits when they worked for the district, however, once the jobs were outsourced to GCA, the jobs only paid $14.85 per hour in wages and benefits, decreasing 23% in compensation level. 

At its core, this project is about people.  We need your help telling the stories that show how outsourcing contributes to the growing chasm between the super rich and everyone else. Again, if you have a story, please send me an email at shabibi@inthepublicinterest.org.