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Benefits of Union Membership

 

The Union Advantage: Workers Earn a Better Wage and Communities Are Stronger 

Union workers earn higher wages and get more benefits than workers who don't have a voice on the job with a union.
Union workers' median weekly earnings  $740
Nonunion workers’ median weekly earnings

$587

Union wage advantage

 26%

Union workers who get health benefits

75%

Nonunion workers who get health benefits 

49%

Union health benefits advantage

26%

Union workers with guaranteed (defined-benefit) pension

69%

Nonunion workers with guaranteed (defined-benefit) pension 

14%

Union pension advantage

55%

Sources: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employment and Earnings, January 2003; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Benefits in Private Industry, 2000.

 

When workers have a voice at work, the community also benefits.
Statistics show states in which more people are union members are states with higher wages, better benefits and better schools. While unions are just one factor affecting the quality of living, the pattern indicates that when workers have a voice at work, the community also benefits. And when employers interfere in workers’ decision to join a union, the community loses—living standards decline and income inequality grows.
10 states where unions are strongest 10 states where unions are weakest
Average Hourly Earnings, 2000  $15.61 $12.49
Average Household Income, 2000 

$46,378

 $38,854

Percent of population with no medical insurance, 1999-2000 

11.8%

 15.1%

Public education spending per pupil, 2000–2001

$8,265

$5,774

Percent of eligible voters who voted in presidential election, 2000 

55.2%

49.2%

Crimes per 100,000 people 

4,114

4,694

Percent of population in poverty, 1999

10.6%

13.3%

Maximum weekly unemployment insurance benefit in 2002 

$379

$296

Maximum weekly workers’ compensation benefit in 2001

$675

$486

Workplace fatality rate in 2000 (per 100,000 workers)

4.6

6.3

** Read more about the important benefits workers, families and communities win when they succeed in forming and joining unions.

Ten States Where Unions Are Strongest (based on percentage of workforce with a union): New York, Hawaii, Alaska, Michigan, New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, Rhode Island, Ohio, Minnesota

Ten States Where Unions Are Weakest (based on percentage of workforce with a union): North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Arizona, South Dakota, Arkansas, Florida, Utah

Sources: Kathleen O’Leary and Scott Morgan, State Rankings, 2001; U.S. Census Bureau, Income of Households by State in 2000; Kaiser Family Foundation Health Fact Online, Percent of Uninsured, 1999-2000; Unemployment insurance benefits in 2002 from Maurice Ensellem, Jessica Goldberg, Rick McHugh, Wendell Primius, Rebecca Smith and Jeffrey Wenger, “Failing the Unemployed: A State-by-State Examination of Unemployment Insurance Systems,” March 12, 2002, Economic Policy Institute, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and National Employment Law Project; Workers’ compensation benefits in 2001 from AFL-CIO, “Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Insurance Benefits Under State Law, January 1, 2001”; Workplace fatality rates from AFL-CIO, “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect,” April 2002.

The above information is compiled in  "This is America, where we have freedom..."  by Laureen Lazarovici, published by the AFL-CIO.