Why Choose A Union?
Union
members earn better wages and benefits than workers who
aren’t union members. On average, union workers’ wages
are 30 percent higher than their nonunion counterparts.
While only 14 percent of nonunion workers have
guaranteed pensions, fully 68 percent of union workers
do. More than 97 percent of union workers have jobs that
provide health insurance benefits, but only 85 percent
of nonunion workers do. Unions help employers create a
more stable, productive workforce—where workers have a
say in improving their jobs.
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Union workers’ median
weekly earnings $833
Nonunion workers’ median weekly earnings
$642
Union wage advantage
30%
Union women’s median weekly earnings
$758
Nonunion women’s median weekly earnings
$579
Union wage advantage for women
31%
African American union workers’ median
weekly earnings $707
African American nonunion workers’ median weekly
earnings $520
Union wage advantage for African Americans
36%
Latino union workers’ median weekly
earnings $686
Latino nonunion workers’ median weekly earnings
$469
Union wage advantage for Latinos
46%
Asian American union workers’ median
weekly earnings $834
Asian American nonunion workers’ median weekly
earnings $774
Union wage advantage for Asian Americans
8%
Union workers with employer-provided
health insurance 80%
Nonunion workers with employer-provided health
insurance 49%
Union health insurance advantage
63%
Union workers without health insurance
coverage 2.5%
Nonunion workers without health insurance coverage
15%
Nonunion workers are
five times more
likely to lack health insurance coverage
Union workers with guaranteed
(defined-benefit) pensions 68%
Nonunion workers with guaranteed (defined-benefit)
pensions 14%
Union pension advantage
386%
Union workers with short-term disability
benefits 62%
Nonunion workers with short-term disability benefits
35%
Union short-term disability benefits advantage
77%
Union workers’ average days of paid
vacation 15 days
Nonunion workers’ average days of paid vacation
11.75 days
Union paid vacation advantage
28%
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Members in 2006,
Jan. 25, 2007; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey:
Employee Benefits in Private Industry in the United
States, March 2006, August 2006; Economic Policy
Institute; Employee Benefit Research Institute, May
2005. |
