Study Shows Unions Take Low-Wage Workers Higher (9/12/07)

A new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows that union membership substantially improves the pay and benefits for workers in traditionally low-paying jobs.

The study, "Unions and Upward Mobility for Low-Wage Workers," examines data on 15 low-wage jobs, and finds that joining a union raised workers' pay by over 16 percent. That figures to about $1.75 more per hour for workers who were members of a union.

The impact on health insurance and pension coverage is even more significant. In the study, union workers were 25 percent more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and just as likely to have employer-provided pensions than non-union workers in the same jobs.

The study concludes that "better protection of workers' right to unionize would help improve the quality of low-wage jobs."

The occupations covered in the study included cashiers, food preparation workers, cafeteria workers, child-care workers, cooks, housekeepers, home-care aides, packers and packagers, janitors, grounds maintenance workers, nursing and home-health aides, stock clerks, teacher's assistants, laborers and freight workers, and security guards.

Read the full report here.