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WorkerEconomicsPBGC Reports Fifth DeficitThe federal pension-insurance agencyreported a long-term deficit of $18.1billion in 2006 — its fifth straightannual shortfall — but showed improvementfrom 2005.The narrower operating deficit reportedby the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.was down from a shortfall of $22.8 billionin 2005 and a record $23.3 billion in2004.The agency, which insures private pensionplans for 44 million workers andretirees, reported assets of $60 billion tocover pension liabilities of $78.1 billion.The pension agency was created in1974 as a government insurance programfor traditional, defined benefit pensionplans. Its report comes as an increasingnumber of Americans are feeling anxiousabout their retirement security.Steel Imports Hit Recordhe United States imported a recordamount of steel in 2006, anothersign that our government mustaddress unfair trading practices by Chinaand other Asian exporters.Preliminary data from the CensusBureau indicated that steel imports couldreach 46 million tons once final figuresare in for last year, besting the previousrecord of 41.5 million tons set in 1998.Much of the import increase stemsfrom countries with a history of unfairtrading including China and India,according to the American Iron and SteelInstitute (AISI), which represents over 30U.S. steel companies.T16 winter 2007 • USW@WorkUnion Representation Petitions Dropnion representation petitions to the National Labor Relations Board droppedby more than 25 percent in 2006 — evidence that the current system remainsbadly broken.Meanwhile, illegal firings for union activity have risen sharply, with about one infive union activists who tried to organize being fired since 2000, according to a newstudy by the Center for Economic Policy Research.In a year-end report, the labor board said it handled 3,643 representation casesduring the last fiscal year, a 25.6 percent decrease from 4,894 in fiscal 2005.Petitions to deauthorize bargaining units have also risen.AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the decline in representation petitions isevidence that the current NLRB system is so broken that working people have abandonedusing it.UJob Growth Lags in Current RecoveryThere have been four economic recoveries since 1961 that have lasted at leastfive years. Of those four, job growth has been the slowest in the currentrecovery, which began in November 2001.Each bar in the accompanying graph shows percent growth in jobs for both totalpayrolls and private sector payrolls (excluding government) over the first fiveyears of the economic expansion that began in the month shown on the X axis ofthe graph.This uniquely weak performancein employment growth isone reason why the benefits ofthe expansion have been slowto reach many working families.On average, payrolls nationallygained 153,000 jobs permonth in 2006, slightly behindthe monthly averages of both2005 (165,000) and 2004(175,000).Payroll Growth18%16%14%12%10%8%6%4%2%0%18.2%17.3%16% 16.4%PAYROLL GROWTH:RECOVERIES LASTINGFIVE YEARS9.5% 10.3% 4.5% 4.6%Feb-1961 Nov-1982 Mar-1991 Nov-2001Executive Cash Bonuses SkyrocketWhile most of us are struggling to maintain health care coverage and modeststandards of living, top corporate executives are awash in ever-rising cashbonuses.Even Wall Street noticed at year's end when Goldman Sachs gave its chief executive,Lloyd C. Blankfein, a record bonus of $53.4 million.The highest paid executives last year received a 48.2 percent increase in their annualcash bonus and were paid 31.2 percent more total cash compensation, according todata compiled by the Economic Research Institute from 45 publicly traded companies.For the highest paid executives, the average base salary last year was $1,273,978.The average cash bonus was $3,521,615. Average total cash compensation hit$4,795,096.TotalPrivateSource: BLS establishment survey