Fourth, unions have historically been more likely to organize middle-wage than high-wage workers, which lowers inequality by closing gaps between, say, blue-collar and white-collar workers. Finally, the union wage boost is largest for low-wage workers and larger at the middle than at the highest wage levels, larger for black and Hispanic workers than for white workers, and larger for those with lower levels of education—wage increases for these groups help narrow wage inequalities.
We know how big a force for equality unions are by looking at how much their decline has contributed to inequality between middle- and high-wage workers: union decline can explain one-third of the rise in wage inequality among men and one-fifth of the rise in wage inequality among women from to Among men, the erosion of collective bargaining has been the largest single factor driving a wedge between middle- and high-wage workers.
Figure A Union membership and share of income going to the top 10 percent, — Year Union membership Share of income going to the top 10 percent Sources: Data on union density follows the composite series found in Historical Statistics of the United States; updated to from unionstats. Sources: Data on union density follow the composite series found in Historical Statistics of the United States; updated to from unionstats. Data on the middle 60 percent's share of income are from U. For typical workers, hourly pay growth has been sluggish for decades, rising 0.
If pay had risen with productivity during that period, as it did in the decades before , pay would have gone up Income growth for the highest 1 percent of wage earners rose by nearly percent between and , meaning that the highest-earning 1 percent have claimed a radically disproportionate share of income growth. Working people in unions use their power in numbers to secure a fairer share of the income they create. Workers who are empowered by forming a union raise wages for union and nonunion workers alike.
As an economic sector becomes more unionized, nonunion employers pay more to retain qualified workers and norms of higher pay and better conditions become standard.
For example, if a union hospital is across town from a nonunion hospital and the two hospitals are competing for workers, then the nonunion workers will benefit from the presence of the union hospital. By joining together, working people can transform not just their workplaces but sectors and communities. Unions also narrow the racial wage gaps. Black workers, for example, are more likely than white workers to be in a union and are more likely to be low- and middle-wage workers, who get a bigger pay boost for being in a union than do higher-wage workers.
This effect is an important tool in closing the black—white wage gap, which has actually grown somewhat since , largely due to growth in the gap since —while wages since have stagnated for both black and white workers, the decline in wage growth has been larger for black workers. These data showing that unions raise wages for all workers—and especially for women and black and Hispanic workers—do not erase the problematic historical episodes of sexism and racism practiced by unions.
Unions are an American institution, and like nearly every other American institution their past includes clear instances of gender and racial discrimination. But there has been significant progress in increasing the shares of women represented by unions and in union leadership. There has also been significant progress in the racial integration of unions and in ensuring that nonwhite workers have equitable access to apprenticeships, as illustrated by the progress in New York City construction unions.
More than 4, workers are killed on the job every year. An estimated 50, to 60, more die of occupational diseases each year, and the estimated number of work-related injuries and illnesses exceeds 7 million.
And researchers have suggested that unions create safer workplaces; because union workers are protected by their union from repercussions for reporting safety issues, they are more likely to report not only injuries but near misses. This increased reporting can lead to a reduction in work hazards. About six in 10 adults 63 percent say the average working person in the United States has less job security now than 20 or 30 years ago.
And research shows that jobs that are insecure, unpredictable, and risky also affect communities and society as a whole. But working people in unionized workplaces are more likely to have benefits that strengthen families and improve job security and predictability. Some of the items in the list below provide union—nonunion comparisons not adjusted for personal characteristics and other factors, while some, where indicated, provide adjusted comparisons.
Unions also bring better benefits to the broader labor force. Here is a specific example of how unions have helped secure crucial benefits for workers by taking their concerns to the lawmakers and to the public at large:. Few Americans have enough to live on in retirement. A key part of the story of rising retirement income insecurity is a shift from traditional defined-benefit DB pensions that provide a guaranteed income to defined-contribution DC plans— k s or similar plans—that force workers to bear investment risk without providing any guarantees.
Nearly half of all families headed by an adult age 32—61 have zero retirement savings. Union members have an advantage in retirement security, both because union members are more likely to have retirement benefits and because, when they do, the benefits are better than what comparable nonunion workers receive: union members are more likely to have pensions, and employer contributions to the plans whether pensions or DC plans tend to be higher.
Because they are on the front lines, working people often have some of the best information on how to improve their workplaces and make their workplaces safer and more productive. Unionized workplaces also provide their workers with more transparency about company finances and processes that can help shape responses to problems.
Because unions and collective bargaining are effective at giving workers power, they are opposed by corporate interests and policymakers representing the highest-earning 1 percent. Employers are exploiting loopholes, including by misclassifying workers as independent contractors to get around labor laws that protect employees.
By going after union funding, employer interests and their allied lawmakers can wipe out one of the crucial pillars of support for pro-worker candidates and causes. To the extent that unions can be removed as a politically meaningful force, the rest of the agenda becomes much easier to execute. These strategies have been effective, as is evident in the differing trends in unionization between private-sector and public-sector workers.
Until very recently, public-sector employers have been far less engaged in trying to block unionization efforts than their private-sector counterparts. Just 6. In contrast, Overall, Not all employers oppose unions. Some unions featured in this report were voluntarily recognized by employers, and some led campaigns in which the employer provided union organizers with free access to employees.
But often, when private-sector workers seek to organize and bargain collectively, employers hire union avoidance consultants to orchestrate and roll out anti-union campaigns. Finally, the Department of Labor is working to repeal a rule that prohibits employers from keeping the work of anti-union consultants a secret.
Workers wrongly classified as independent contractors are also deprived of the right to unionize under U. These workers are thus unable to join together in a union to negotiate better terms and conditions with their employer. Misclassification is rampant in many industries such as food services and construction.
The practice contributes to an economy where wages are flat, profits are soaring, and companies that do not arrange their businesses to avoid their employment responsibilities are disadvantaged. Unions provide a range of tangible benefits to their members, from contract and benefit administration and enforcement to legal services. These services cost money.
Rather, right-to-work laws simply prohibit contracts that require all workers who benefit from union representation to help pay for these benefits. Fair share fees are just that. Under federal law, no one can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. However, unions are required to represent all members of a bargaining unit, whether or not they are in the union. Nonunion workers also receive the higher wages and benefits their union coworkers enjoy.
RTW laws weaken unions by eroding union funding and membership Figure D shows union density, as measured by shares of workers covered by collective bargaining, in RTW and fair share states. Proponents of RTW laws say they boost investment and job growth but there is no serious evidence of that.
While causal impacts of RTW laws are hard to estimate with statistical precision, there is ample evidence that RTW laws hurt all workers—not just union members. Notes: Union density is measured as share of workers covered by collective bargaining.
Six states have right-to-work laws that were enacted in the last five years in or later : Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. When state budget deficits increased after the Great Recession, business-backed governors in a number of states sought to curb the powers of public-sector unions by arguing that government unions were to blame.
In the public sector, there is a similar attack on collective bargaining playing out in the courts. In Abood v. Detroit Board of Education U. The Court held that public-sector employees who elect not to join the union may be charged a fee to cover the cost of collective bargaining and contract administration.
Fair share fees may not be used to support union political activities. These fair share fees ensure that all workers represented by the union pay their fair share of the cost of that representation.
In , the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association which, among other things, addressed whether Abood should be overruled and public-sector fair share fee arrangements invalidated under the First Amendment. On March 29, , the Supreme Court affirmed Abood by an equally divided 4—4 split. One of those cases, Janus v. Unions are a dynamic and ever-evolving institution of the American economy that exist to give working people a voice and leverage over their working conditions and the economic policy decisions that shape these conditions.
Employers might view them not as adversaries but as preferred suppliers of talent — at least as good as current temp agencies and other recruitment channels. Using social media, community organizing, and political pressure, unions should expose employers who exploit immigrants and other low wage workers. Violating basic labor standards or treating workers poorly would become a national disgrace that would force American employers to establish codes of conduct similar to what multinationals like Nike and Apple have had to do in response to exposes of abuse of contractors overseas.
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This strategy is working a treat for the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. However in a world where most people will have multiple careers, professional identity is not as strong as it used to be. In digital unionism, unions reach and recruit members online. This sidesteps the difficulties of obtaining workplace access from hostile employers. However converting online sympathisers into paying members has proven more difficult than it sounds.
One Uber driver told me in an interview that she was able to stare down the company purely on the strength of her influence on social media. She declared:. Digital tactics like this feature strongly in the current wave of labour activism. This will develop with or without the involvement of incumbent unions.
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