The Slow Bleed of American Workers

What could you have done with $700,000?

That’s not a hypothetical question. That’s what was or will be bled from you before a miserable retirement.

In the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ back offices, they say workers’ share of the American pie is smaller than it’s been since World War II—just 53.8% of GDP. It’s been a slow bleed since 1973. For three decades before that, American workers garnered a magical 64.5% of GDP as wages. Since then, for over 50 years, there has been an intentional wage suppression.

An 11% difference may not seem like a lot on paper, but for most baby boomers, that’s $15,000 per year. Over a 47-year career? That’s $700,000 that should have been in your paycheck or gained value in a retirement fund.

Imagine The Possibilities That Have Been Stolen From You.

  • Paid cash for college tuition—yours and your kids.’
  • Bought a home with a down payment and kept up with the mortgage
  • Taken family vacations instead of staying home
  • Spent more time with our kids instead of working overtime
  • Had the choice for a parent to stay home
  • Afforded quality childcare
  • Been present and rested with time to hold the government accountable

But it’s gone. The US labor market isn’t in a sudden crash—it’s a steady, draining erosion that’s been happening for decades and accelerating in recent years. In Q3 2025, labor’s share of GDP fell to 53.8%—down from the 61-66% average in the postwar decades. While productivity climbs, corporate profits hit records, and stock markets surge, workers take home less than 54 cents of every dollar the economy generates. The rest flows upward to capital owners, executives, and shareholders.

This isn’t abstract economics—it’s personal devastation unfolding quietly:

You’re living it right now!

Families watch rent, healthcare, groceries, and education costs outpace wage gains year after year. Homeownership slips out of reach for younger generations; retirement savings dwindle; debt mounts as survival requires multiple jobs or side gigs. The “great decoupling” means workers build the wealth through longer hours, tech booms, efficiency gains—but see little of it returned.

The cumulative loss since the 1970s has been staggering—estimates from various analyses put the figure at trillions in foregone wages for the bottom 90% of earners. And it’s not just about money. It’s about choices. It’s about time. It’s about the possibilities that were stolen while you were working harder than ever.

Layer on the structural shift to a distributed economy: Manufacturing’s decline scattered workers from shared factory floors (where solidarity formed naturally) to isolated gigs, remote setups, small teams, platforms, and subcontractors. No common break room for grievances, no shared picket line for leverage. Isolation breeds complacency—why organize when you’re one person against an algorithm, a distant HQ, or a gig app that can deactivate you tomorrow?

The result: weaker bargaining power, suppressed wages, and a sense that “this is just how it is.”

But this slow bleed doesn’t have to be fatal. The biggest enemy isn’t corporations, K Street lobbyists, or even a captured government alone—it’s the resignation that keeps 170 million American workers fragmented and silent. We are many; they are few. Together, we are unstoppable.

That’s why US Worker Actions launched the Clean Slate 2028 initiative. We’re not waiting for permission or relying on the same broken systems. We’re organizing now—starting with a nationwide launch on July 4, 2026—to replace every member of Congress with patriots who serve the people, not special interests. Not unions. Not corporations. Just the workers who’ve been left behind by a rigged game.

Our goal: Reclaim the constitutional republic, enforce existing labor laws fairly, unleash workers to negotiate better wages without fear, and restore economic freedom for all. This means ending the tilt toward capital, stopping the extraction, and building a future where wages reflect the value workers create.

You are not a cost. You are the source of all value.

But here’s the hard truth: They’ve already taken enough. They’ve pushed enough. They’ve extracted enough. The question is—how much more are you going to let them take?

Stop waiting. Stop watching. Stop letting them bleed you dry while you stay silent.

Every day you hesitate is another day they steal what’s yours. Another dollar that flows upward instead of into your paycheck. Another piece of your future they’ve already taken while you’re still deciding whether to “maybe get involved later.”

There is no later. The time is now.

They’re betting you’ll stay quiet. They’re counting on your resignation. They’ve spent decades breaking your will because they’re terrified of what happens when you realize your own power.

They’re right to be afraid.

Because here’s what they know that you forgot: You’re not just one person. You’re 170 million. You hold the power that built this country, created every dollar of wealth, and made everything around you possible. You are the source. You are the leverage. You are the force.

They have money. We have numbers. They have lobbyists. We have the people. They have the system. We have the will.

We don’t need their permission. We don’t need their approval. We don’t need to wait for them to do the right thing.

We take it. Together.

Here’s what you do right now—this minute:

  1. Go to https://www.usworkeractions.com/ and create your account. Five minutes. That’s all it takes to stop being a bystander and start being part of the solution.
  2. Share this message with three people today—your coworker who’s drowning in rent, your neighbor working two jobs, your kid who can’t afford a home. Break the isolation. Start the conversation.
  3. Join the Stand on July 4, 2026. Be there when 170 million become one. Make history instead of watching it pass by.

The slow bleed stops when YOU decide to stop it.

Not “someone.” Not “they.” Not “someday.”

YOU.

Your silence is their weapon. Your voice is your power. Your choice determines the future—not just for you, but for your children, their children, and every worker who comes after you.

The $700,000 they already stole is gone. But we can stop them from taking the next $700,000. And the next. And the next.

Today, we start taking it back.

Join us. Be counted. Stand up.

The future belongs to those who organize.

Are you going to watch them win—or are you going to help us stop them?

Visit https://www.usworkeractions.com/ now. Do it today. Because your family, your dignity, and your America are waiting for you to finally say:

NO MORE.

Categories: Articles

Randell Hynes

Randell Hynes

Founder of the U.S. Workers Alliance.