Five Reasons Unions Matter to the Progressive Movement - Part I

Read part I already? Click here for part II.

Earlier this month, we commemorated Labor Day with a new training tool that connects the role of unions with social and economic justice organizing. This blog entry (part one of two parts) is a companion piece to “Union and the Progressive Movement. There are many reasons to support unions. Here are 5 main ones:

1. Unions produce the middle-class in America.

The livable wage and the protections that unions win for workers (e.g., Social Security and family leave) have helped working families gain economic stability and entry into the middle class. This affects non-union workers too. Employers offer competitive wages to keep talent and prevent unionization. 

But for decades we have seen the power of unions declining and attacks on workers' retirement funds, job security, wage protection, and safe workplace conditions increasing. During this same period we have also seen dramatic increase in CEO pay. The income gap between the top income group and the bottom groups continues to bloat, creating one of the largest income inequality this country has seen. Is there a direct connection between the union membership decline and the CEO pay incline? How huge is this income gap? For the last three decades the middle class and low income groups (the bottom 80% income group) collectively lost $743 billion in annual income, while the top 1% of income group gained $673 billion every year . That’s a huge wage gap!

2. Unions raise the living wage for women and workers of color.

Women and workers of color, especially African-American, fought hard to gain membership into unions so that they could access higher wages and job protection. This was an important step into the middle class. As union membership declines and employers exploit vulnerable workers, newer American workers such as Latino immigrants find themselves in low-wage, nonunionized jobs with little protection and benefits.

The AFL-CIO found that through collective bargaining, union members earn 30% more than nonunion members. Latino union workers earn almost 46% more than nonunion Latino workers. Women union workers earn 31% more than those not in a union. For African American workers, the union advantage is 36%. Standing by unions and fortifying their membership, advances the rights of all workers and increases the standards for all workplaces.

Moreover, unions led by communities of color, such as migrant farm workers and food industry workers, are able to provide racial, gender and economic justice analysis also help the recovery of wage for non-union day laborers and protection against sexual harassment.

Continue to Part II of “Five Reasons Union Matters to the Progressives Movement”

Sources

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-labor-union-decline?page=4

http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/why/uniondifference/upload/advantage.pdf