We know that unions promote economic equality and build worker power, helping workers to win increases in pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions. But that’s not all unions do. Unions also have powerful effects on workers’ lives outside of work.
In this report, we document the correlation between higher levels of unionization in states and a range of economic, personal, and democratic well-being measures. In the same way unions give workers a voice at work, with a direct impact on wages and working conditions, the data suggest that unions also give workers a voice in shaping their communities. Where workers have this power, states have more equitable economic structures, social structures, and democracies.
Income and economic protections
We find that, on average, the 17 U.S. states with the highest union densities:
- have state minimum wages that are on average 19% higher than the national average and 40% higher than those in low-union-density states
- have median annual incomes $6,000 higher than the national average
- have higher-than-average unemployment insurance recipiency rates (that is, a higher share of those who are unemployed actually receive unemployment insurance)
We find that the states with the highest union densities:
- have an uninsured (without health insurance) population 4.5 percentage points lower, on average, than that of low-union-density states
- have all elected to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, protecting their residents from falling into the “coverage gap”
- are more likely to have passed paid sick leave laws and paid family and medical leave laws than states with lower union densities. Read more...
