https://phys.org/news/2018-08-wage-action.html

"There were several organizations that had been using our data," explains Glasmeier, who built the LWC with the support of a Ford Foundation grant. "They all seemed to care deeply about the issue, so it was natural for me to invite them to be partners. It's an interesting group of individuals and organizations who believe that corporations can build a living wage into their business models and still be successful."

The U.S. was just emerging from a recession when Glasmeier began to work on the LWC. Rural areas had been hit particularly hard; residents of towns with one or two large employers lost their livelihoods when those employers failed.