Union Facts
As we progress the fight for collective bargaining rights for public workers in Colorado, we are often asked questions about why unions, collective bargaining, and worker solidarity are important. Many people aren’t aware of the impacts union organizing has had on their daily lives, working conditions, and rights. This page is an attempt to condense some knowledge of union effectiveness in one place, as both a way to help our members to present evidence-based arguments and to act as a resource to others.
Highlights
+ Union workers earn more.
The Union Wage Premium: “On average, a worker covered by a union contract earns 11.2% more in wages than a peer with similar education, occupation, and experience in a nonunionized workplace in the same industry” (See Source #1, p. 6). The Union Wage Premium is heightened even more for Black and non-White Hispanics workers than their White counterparts (See Source #1 p. 7).
+ Union workers receive more and better benefits.
“More than nine in 10 workers covered by a union contract (94%) have access to employer sponsored health benefits, compared with just 68% of nonunion workers” (See Source #1 p. 7).
+ Unionization also benefits non-unionized workers.
“In the typical state, unionization is associated with about a 15 percent increase in hourly wages (roughly $2.50 per hour)” (See Source #11 p. 1).
+ Unionization decreases the gender wage gap.
“Women who are represented by unions earn 88.7 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts, a considerably higher earnings ratio than the earnings ratio between all women and men in the United States” (See Source #3).
+ Union workers have better support for retirement.
“Union employers (when adjustments are made for various employer characteristics) are 22.5 percent more likely to offer an employer-provided retirement plan and, on average, to spend 56 percent more on retirement for their employees than do comparable nonunion employers.” (See #2, p. 16).
Retirement
“Ninety percent of union workers participate in a retirement plan (of any kind), compared with 75 percent of nonunion workers.” (See Source #2, p. 16)
“Union employers (when adjustments are made for various employer characteristics) are 22.5 percent more likely to offer an employer-provided retirement plan and, on average, to spend 56 percent more on retirement for their employees than do comparable nonunion employers.” (See #2, p. 16)
Unionization sees “a 24-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of having employer-sponsored retirement plans.” (See #11, p. 1)
Public Good
“Where unions are strong, wages are higher for typical workers—union and nonunion members alike. Compensation of typical (median) workers grows far faster—four times faster—in states with the smallest declines in unionization than it does in states with the largest declines in unionization” (See #2, p. 10)
“In the typical state, unionization is associated with about a 15 percent increase in hourly wages (roughly $2.50 per hour” (See #11 p. 1)
“Unions are a strong force to reduce inequality. There is a large body of international research on this. They do it partly through collective bargaining but also by advocating effectively for progressive legislation, taxation and social protections. High inequality is bad for society and the economy. Reduced inequality is a benefit shared by the great majority of people.” (see #13)
“There is strong evidence that unions improve workplace health and safety where they are present. It is not only union members who benefit from the reduced risks to their safety and health, but everyone in a workplace. Unions also campaign for better health and safety laws and enforcement that benefits all workers.” (See #13)
Employer-Retaliation
“Three-quarters or more of private employers facing unionization hire union avoidance consultants to quash the union campaign, sometimes spending hundreds of thousands of dollars” (See Source #2, p. 20)
“From 2011 to 2015, fifteen states enacted legislation severely limiting or even dismantling collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions.” (See Source #2, p. 23)
“Nonunion workers in the private sector are more than twice as likely as union workers to say that they are discouraged or prohibited from discussing their pay (Hegewisch et al. 2011)” (See #4, p. 1)
“From 1973 to 2007, private sector union membership in the United States declined from 34 to 8 percent for men and from 16 to 6 percent for women. During this period, inequality in hourly wages increased by over 40 percent” (See #9 p. 513)
Wages
The Union Wage Premium: “On average, a worker covered by a union contract earns 11.2% more in wages than a peer with similar education, occupation, and experience in a nonunionized workplace in the same industry” (See Source #1, p. 6)
“Union members earn better wages and benefits than workers who aren’t union members. On average, union workers’ wages are 19% higher than their nonunion counterparts.” (See #5)
Healthcare and Benefits
“Union workers are more likely to be covered by employer-provided health insurance. More than nine in 10 workers covered by a union contract (94%) have access to employer sponsored health benefits, compared with just 68% of nonunion workers” (See Source #1 p. 7)
“Union employers pay 86% of workers’ health care premiums while nonunion employers pay 79% of their workers’ health care premiums” (See #1 p. 7)
“Nine in 10 workers covered by a union contract (91%) have access to paid sick days, compared with 73% of nonunion workers.” (See #1 p. 7)
“Union employers contribute 11.4 percent more toward paid vacation and holidays for their workers than do comparable nonunion employers” (See #2 p. 15)
“More than 75% of union workers have jobs that provide health insurance benefits, but less than half of nonunion workers do.” (See #5)
“A 19-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of having employer-provided health insurance” (See #11, p. 1)
Gender
“Hourly wages for women represented by a union are 5.8% higher on average than for nonunionized women with comparable characteristics.” (See Source #1 p. 7)
“Unions raise wages in the female-dominated service occupations. Union represented workers in service occupations (which include food service and janitorial services) make 87.0 percent more in total compensation and 56.1 percent more in wages than their nonunion counterparts” (See #2, p. 12)
“Among full-time workers aged 16 and older, women represented by labor unions earn an average of $212, or 30.9 percent, more per week than women in nonunion jobs” (See #3)
“Men of the same age range who are represented by unions earn, on average, $173 more per week (or 20.6 percent) than those without union representation” (See #3)
“Union women experience a small gender wage gap. Women who are represented by unions earn 88.7 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts, a considerably higher earnings ratio than the earnings ratio between all women and men in the United States” (See #3)
“Approximately three in four unionized women (74.1 percent) have a pension plan, compared with only slightly more than four in ten (42.3 percent) of their nonunion counterparts” (See #4, p. 8)
Race
“White workers represented by union are paid “just” 8.7% more than their nonunionized peers who are white, but Black workers represented by union are paid 13.7% more than their nonunionized peers who are Black, and Hispanic workers represented by unions are paid 20.1% more than their nonunionized peers who are Hispanic” (See Source #1 p. 7)
“Hispanic women represented by unions have median weekly earnings that are 42.1 percent higher than those without union representation. Hispanic men with union representation have earnings that are 40.6 percent higher than their nonunion counterparts.” (See Source #3)
Inequality and Effects on the Public
“Research shows that deunionization accounts for a sizable share of the growth in inequality between typical (median) workers and workers at the high end of the wage distribution in recent decades—on the order of 13–20% for women and 33–37% for men” (See Source #1, p. 6)
“As a result, the power of unions is declining. In 1953, 35.7% of private sector workers belonged to unions. By 2015, that number was 6.7%. Some of this decline has been mitigated by public-sector unionization, but even with the public sector, overall union membership is at 11.3%. Meanwhile, inequality has soared to levels not seen since the 1920s. In 1978 the top 1% of Americans garnered 8.9% of all US income; by 2007, their share had risen to 23.5%. If inequality is a threat to public health, the decline of American unions is as well” (See #6, p. 2)
We also find a strong positive relationship between firm level wages and union density (p. 1924) (See #7)
Overall increase in wages in a system where unions are subsidized by tax dollars(See #7)
“unions reduce wage inequality more within than between educational and occupational groups” (517) (528 See #10)
Case Studies
“The United Food and Commercial Workers secured increased pay and benefits for workers in more than a dozen meatpacking and food-processing companies. The commitments include $2 per hour premium pay for workers at Campbell’s Soup, a $1,500 bonus for workers at Smucker Foods, and a 15% pay increase for workers at Danone North America” (See Source #1, p. 20)
“The United Auto Workers persuaded General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler to shut down operations for two weeks to slow the spread of the virus, and they negotiated with the companies to provide all workers with protective gear, including masks.” (See #1, p. 20)
“The Communications Workers of America secured additional paid sick and family leave for unionized Verizon workers. The agreement includes 26 weeks of paid sick leave for individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 and eight weeks of paid leave for those caring for an individual medically diagnosed with COVID-19.” (See #1, p. 20)
“Negotiations between six local affiliates of the Services Trade Council Union (STCU) and Disney World in 2014 led to wage increases for union members to at least $10 an hour starting in 2016. These local affiliates represent housekeepers, lifeguards, cast members, and other service workers. Disney then extended the raises to all its 70,000 Orlando employees, including nonunion employees. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the wage increases prompted much of Orlando’s hospitality and retail sector, including Westgate Resorts, to raise wages.” (See #2, p. 10)
“ after unionizing, dishwashers in Las Vegas hotels made $4 per hour more than the national average for that job, and they were offered excellent benefits. And hospitality workers in unionized Las Vegas enjoy a much higher living standard than those in Reno, where unions are weaker. In Houston, a 2006 first-ever union contract for 5,300 janitors resulted in a 47 percent pay increase and an increase in guaranteed weekly hours of work” (See #2, p. 10)
“In June 2017, Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) and Sakuma Brothers Berry Farm, one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest berry growers, signed a collective bargaining agreement that ensures good wages for the more than 500 immigrant farmworkers who harvest berries at the farm. The contract ensures that the berry pickers—many of whom had been earning less than the state minimum wage of $9.47 an hour under the former piece-rate system (based on how many pounds of berries they picked)—now earn at least a minimum wage of $12; the revised piece-rate system it establishes seeks to deliver an average wage of $15 an hour” (See #2, p. 11)
“Union construction sites are safer for workers. In 2014, OSHA inspected New York state construction sites and found twice as many health and safety violations at nonunion construction sites as at union construction sites.42 Another study, of Missouri construction sites, found higher levels of OSHA violations among nonunion St. Louis residential construction job sites than at unionized St. Louis residential job sites.” (See #2, p. 12)
“Mine workers in union mines are less likely to be severely injured or die on the job. Unionization is associated with a substantial and statistically significant drop in traumatic injuries and in fatalities in underground bituminous coal mines from 1993 to 2010.” (See #2, p. 13)
“hospitals with successful unionization elections performed better subsequently relative to those in which the unionization drive failed” (See #9, p. 812)
The authors estimate the impact of nurse unions on health care quality using patient-discharge data and the universe of hospital unionization in California between 1996 and 2005 (See #9)
“They find that hospitals with a successful union election outperform hospitals with a failed election in 12 of 13 potentially nurse-sensitive patient outcomes.” (See #9, p. 803)
2019 paper on 2018 teacher strikes, showing in part “[f]irsthand strike exposure increased parents’ support for the teachers and for the labor movement, as well as parents’ interest in labor action.” (See #11, p. 1)
Lovingly made by the Public Workers for the Public Good of CWA Local 7799