Study released today reveals a 20.6 percent union wage advantage for lowest paid workers
Being a union member significantly augments wages for lower-paid workers, a study released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows. Union membership boosted the wages of workers on the bottom rung of the wage ladder (in the 10th percentile) by 20.6 percent, from 2003 to 2007. For a worker at the 20th percentile, whose earnings were exceeded by the top 80 percent, the boost from being a union member was 18.9 percent, and for the typical worker at the 30th percentile, it was 16.8 percent.
The report, “The Union Advantage for Low-Wage Workers,” also analyzed the impact of unionization on low-wage workers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, finding that it had a magnifying impact in each.
“For millions of workers who work hard and take home less to show for it, being part of a union that provides a say on the job is all the more important,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “This study proves that for workers on the bottom rungs of the pay scale, bargaining power is the best, and often only, means to gain a leg up to the middle class.”
While the effect was strongest for workers who earned less, the study also showed that unionization has a substantial amplifying effect on wages for all workers – including those whose earnings were in the middle and top of the wage distribution. The typical worker – the earner right in the middle of the national pay scale – saw his or her wages raised by 13.7 percent.
The CEPR study sought to estimate average union wage premiums for workers at different wage levels by controlling for other worker characteristics including age, gender, location, education, and industry.
The report analyzed five years of data on 16-to-64 year old workers from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) for the years 2003 through 2007. The study was authored by John Schmitt, a Senior Economist at the CEPR.
To obtain copy of the report “The Union Wage Advantage for Low-Wage Workers”, please contact the AFL-CIO Media Outreach Department at 202-637-5018.
Contact: Rachele Huennekens 202-637-5018
