A first of its kind report just issued by the Department of the Treasury asserts that membership in a labor union is almost always good for a worker’s pocketbook.
The report says that on average wages are increased anywhere from 10% to 15% for workers who are unionized. Even more, union membership tends to improve fringe benefits and retirement plans.
Unionization, says the report, also brings with it a spillover effect: “Competition means workers at nonunionized firms see increased wages, too,” as well as improved worker safety procedures.
Such improved workplaces, “contribute substantially to middle class financial stability and worker well-being.”
And in helping to create a larger middle-class demographic, unions also reduce overall inequality: “Income inequality often feeds back into inequality of opportunity, which impedes growth if disadvantaged people cannot access the resources necessary to acquire job skills or start businesses.”
The American labor movement dates to the mid-19th century but saw its greatest growth in a largely factory economy during the Great Depression with the passage of the National Labor Relations Act.
That legislation provided a legal standing to workers attempting to organize unions. In its wake, the country saw a steady increase in the number of unionized workers, peaking at around 35% in the early 1950s, but steadily dropping after that to 23% in 1980.
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report issued earlier this year, the number is now down to 10.1%. Of that figure, roughly 7.1 million workers are employed in the public sector, while 7.2 million are in the private sector.
Despite the ongoing decline in organized workers, the very idea of labor unions remains popular: according to a Gallup survey released late last year roughly 71% indicated their approval of labor unions in general–the highest level of popular support since 1965.
By Garry Boulard
