Organizing efforts may be one reason why union numbers are on the upswing. But Americans who are fed up with the bottom line on personal income may be another reason.

A report released Jan. 18 by the labor-backed Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that despite the nation's strong economic growth, the income gap between the nation's rich and everybody else is widening.

The report said that throughout the 1990s, the average real income for the wealthiest one-fifth grew by 15 percent (average income: $137,500), while the middle class saw less than a 2 percent increase, and the lowest-income families saw no growth at all.

In Michigan, the disparity was less pronounced. During the 1990s, the poorest 20 percent of Michigan residents saw an income increase of 11 percent, or $1,490, and the middle 20 percent saw their income go up 7 percent, or $3,200. Meanwhile, the richest 20 percent in the state were about average with the rest of the nation. They saw their income go up 16 percent or $18,100 over the last 10 years.

Contrast those numbers with the right-to-work states of Arizona and Wyoming. In Arizona, average family income has actually dropped by $3,900 over the last two decades, while in Wyoming, average family income during that time fell by $5,600.

By the way, Business Week magazine said the average CEO of a major corporation makes $10.6 million a year. And according to the AFL-CIO, between 1980 and 1998, the average pay of American CEOs grew 1,596 percent. For working people during that time, the average increase was 69 percent.