Union members do better

 

Given that union members generally receive bigger paychecks and better employee benefits, it’s curious why more people aren’t card carriers.

A new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research drives home what union members have always known: "[B]etter protection of workers’ right to unionize would have a substantial positive impact on the pay and benefits of workers in every state.”

According to the study, The Unions of the States, union members enjoy:

• Bigger paychecks – generally about 15 percent higher than nonunion workers;

• Better benefits – especially employer-financed health insurance, pensions, and paid holidays and vacation;

• Input on working conditions; and

• A voice in the political arena.

But as long as nonunion workers’ rights are violated by their employers when those workers express union sentiments, unions won’t experience a dramatic growth in their membership.

That’s where the Employee Free Choice Act comes in. It would give workers a much easier path to union recognition and a contract than they now have under the current system, which allows disciplining, intimidating or firing union supporters with virtually no consequences.

The study shows that right-to-work states, where union membership is as low as 5 percent of the total workforce, have the lowest wages and worst benefits.