US Union Workers, Wealth Compar., Pay Difference: Labor Unions, Most Unionized Countries Worldwide

[appalachiablue]

'There's a Big Wealth Gap Between Union and Nonunion Workers,' Axios, March 20, '24. Ed.🔨

Median U.S. household wealth by education level and union membership, 2022; Adjusted for inflation; Includes households with a head of household or spouse age 25 or older earning a wage; A range plot shows median U.S. household wealth is higher for union households than non-union for all education levels. Among household heads or spouses who aren't high school educated, the median income is $22,800 for nonunion households and $69,510 for union households.

Among household heads or spouses who have a college degree or higher, the median income is $476,105 for nonunion households and $533,436 for union households.
No high school
$22.8k
$69.5k
High school diploma
$95.4k
$181.3k
Some college
$128.4k
$338.5k
College degree or higher
$476.1k
$533.4k
Nonunion|Union| - Data: Ctr. for American Progress analysis of Federal Reserve & BLS data; "Union" households include a head of household or spouse covered by a union contract; (Chart: Axios Visuals)

There's a massive wealth gap between workers in unions and nonunionized workers, across education levels, finds a new analysis from the liberal think tank Center for American Progress shared first with Axios. - Why it matters: Typically, unionized workers earn about 10%-20% more than their nonunion peers, but these wealth gaps are far wider, an indication that the benefits of union membership accrue to workers over time. College is still one of the best paths to accumulating wealth, this and other data show. But CAP's numbers point to an alternative for those who might not want to spend the time or money on a college education: union membership.

Aside from higher pay, union members have more job security. They are also likely to have defined benefit retirement plans - pensions, and access to better health care - and less apt to go into debt when sick. Researchers at CAP used the Fed. Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, 2022. They viewed households with an adult age 25 or older working and earning a wage or salary. A union household includes a worker who is covered by a union contract. Wealth is the total value of what people own, minus the value of their debts. Union members had a median wealth of $338,482 v. $199,948 for nonunion workers. Union workers had a higher homeownership rate (71% v. 65% nonunion)...
https://www.axios.com/2024/03/20/union-workers-wealth-comparison-pay-difference
********
'Countries with the Highest Percentage Share of Their Workforce Being Members of Labor Unions Worldwide as of 2020,' Statista. - Ed.

Country and year of most recent figure
Percentage of workforce unionized
* Select Countries: (FULL LIST at Link Below)
Iceland (2019) 91.4
Cuba (2008) 81.4
Denmark (2019) 67
Sweden (2019) 65.2
Finland (2019) 58.8
Norway (2019) 50.4
Vietnam (2018) 49.6
Belgium (2019) 49.1
Kazakhstan (2017) 46.9
China (2017) 44.2
Cyprus (2016) 43.3
Malta (2020) 41.9
Tunisia (2019) 38.1
Albania (2017) 38.1
Serbia (2010) 33.3
Canada (2020) 29.4
Argentina (2014) 27.7
Panama (2019) 26.3
UK (2019) 23.4
US (2020) 10.3...
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1356735/labor-unions-most-unionized-countries-worldwide/
----------
'Labor Unions: Countries with Highest Share of Workforce Unionized Worldwide,' Published by
Olan McEvoy, Feb. 2, 2024.

Labor unions, or trade unions as they are known in Europe, are organizations formed by workers in order to represent their collective interests, particularly in relation to wages and working conditions. Historically, labor unions emerged during the industrial revolution of the 19th century to represent the interests of industrial workers, who flocked to work in factories, mines, and other growing manufacturing enterprises.

In most high-income countries, labor unions reached their peak during the post-WWII period, when governments mediated between the interests of labor unions and the owners of capital. With the economic crises of the 1970s, however, the labor movement suffered historic defeats in Europe and North America, with union density declining rapidly in many countries due to a host of pro-market and anti-union policies which have come to be referred to as 'neoliberalism'.

Labor unions today - In the 21st century, labor unions have retreated from their key role in national economic decisions in many countries, as globalization has lowered barriers to movement of labor, enabled 'off-shoring' jobs to lower wage countries, and promoted the lowering of labor standards in order to pursue cost competitiveness. In spite of this trend, certain regions still showcase high levels of union density and retain their traditions of unions being involved in determining economic policy.

Notably, the Nordic countries make up five of the top six most unionized countries, with Iceland in first place being followed by Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and then Norway. Other notable trends among the top placed countries are states which have had a historical relationship with communism (often a key driver of the labor movement), such as Cuba, Vietnam, China, and Kazakhstan. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, labor unions and the wider labor movement has become more prominent, as workers have sought to fight for health and safety conditions in the workplace, as well as to combat high inflation related to the pandemic...
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1356735/labor-unions-most-unionized-countries-worldwide/

[ariadne0614]

1. I equate labor unions in the workplace with democracy in the workplace.

Reagan initiated the decline of organized labor with the 1981 PATCO strike. The recent resurrection of labor unions indicates that workers are finally fed up with being left to the tender mercies of their unfettered capitalist overlords. There’s a through line from there to here.

I fervently hope voters connect the dots, vote blue up and down the ballot, and save American democracy in November. The hard work of rebuilding unions to fight for better wages and working conditions is child’s play in comparison.

Speaking of PATCO 43 years later, The Jacobin’s article lays out the carnage in this article:

(Snip)

“One contributing factor to the growing concerns about safety is a shortage of air traffic controllers. A recent internal study by the inspector general of the US Department of Transportation found that twenty of twenty-six critical facilities (77 percent of them) are staffed below the FAA’s 85-percent threshold. That includes the vital New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, which manages one of the most complex airspaces in the world and is currently at 54 percent of its staffing target (which is jointly determined by the FAA and the controllers’ union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association). Less than 1 percent of FAA facilities are currently meeting 100 percent of their staffing targets.

According to the inspector general, the FAA “lacks a plan” to address the staffing crisis. To meet its needs while short-staffed, the agency has been requiring controllers to work overtime. The Times reports that some have already logged more than four hundred hours of extra time in 2023.”

https://jacobin.com/2023/09/reagan-patco-strike-faa-air-traffic-controllers-short-staffing-safety-crisis