UNIONS MATTER

The Union Advantage

Union workers earn 30% more in median weekly wages than non-union workers.
78% of union workers have health benefits, compared with 49% of non-union workers
60% of union workers have short-term disability coverage, compared with 35% of non-union workers.
82% of union workers get life insurance, compared with 51% of non-union workers
Unionized women earn 33% more than non-union women.
African-American union workers earn 37% more than non-union African Americans.
Latino union members earn 51% more than their non-union counterparts.
Young union workers (age 18-29) make 12.4% more than their non-union counterparts.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Members in 2007, Jan. 25, 2008; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in Private Industry in the United States, March 2007, August 2007; Economic Policy Institute; Employee Benefits Research Institute, May 2005.

Why is changing labor law so important? It's plain as day: workers are struggling in this country. Today's workplaces are tilted in favor of lavishly-paid CEOs, who get golden parachutes while working families struggle to get by. When workers attempt to improve their lives by associating with their co-workers to bargain collectively with their employers, they are often met by immoral, illegal and intentional resistance. According to Article 23 (4) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests.”

What Happens When Workers Attempt To Form Unions:

25% of employers facing union organizing campaigns illegally fire at least one worker.
75% of employers hire anti-union consultants.
78% of employers force workers to attend one-on-one anti-union meetings.
52% of employers threaten to call the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
71% of employers in manufacturing threaten to close the plant if workers choose a union.
1% of companies actually close their plants after workers vote for a union.
92% of employers force workers to attend anti-union presentations.