Union members enjoy wages that are on average, 16% higher than those of non-union workers, while also contributing to a narrower pay gap for women. For women in union members, they only have a 14% difference to men in contrast to women in non-union members who have 20% difference from men. Not only that, women as union members have competitive wages to men as non-union members. This shows that unions can give better benefits to their member while shortening the gap for gender disparity
With increased wages unions bring, there is a concern that labor unions can create insider and outsider friction. With the increase in wages, firm profitability will decrease and they can choose to stop employing new workers. This can harm the workers outside of the union and larger unemployment in an economy (cole et al, 2009).
However, the problem depends on the type of the union itself. Â Inclusive unions which are focused on ensuring every worker gets employment can increase the willingness of the workers to work and increase productivity with the same wage. With higher productivity from each employee, the existence of a union will also benefit employers, increasing their profitability, thus leading to an expansion by the firm, hiring more labor, and increasing overall employment in the economy. This situation does not happen in non-inclusive unions which are only focused on the members of the union (Core, 2017).
Will They Come Back?
With the 70% approval rate of labor unions, the highest since 1965, 2023 were considered the "Great Reset" for American workers. According to the Cornell-ILR Labor Action Tracker, there were 451 strikes in 2023 and the number of workers doubled from 2022. Â This situation was led by the strikes of workers and writers that brought the union power to the mainstream.Â
The reason for the union's decline is the lack of awareness of the idea itself. History shows that union can thrive in the US. Unions provide workers with a collective voice to advocate for fair wages, better working conditions, and protection against exploitation. If we wish to bring back the union to the states they used to be, action is required. This means not only spreading the ideals of collective bargaining and solidarity but also working tirelessly to reinstate and strengthen labor laws that have been weakened over time. When people have the vision of the rewards and the risks of unions, they are more likely to rally behind the cause.
"One of the effects of union decline just means that a lot of people just don't know people in unions don't know what unions do. So then the effect of these kinds of breakthroughs is that it changes people's consciousness by making those options more realistic and something that, like, I could actually take a risk and actually try to win this thing and I might actually have a decent chance of getting it."
Barry Eidlin
