Abstract
Unions are known to increase earnings and wage equality. Therefore, indications for recent union revitalization provoke the question of what unions would do today were they to restore their union density and hence power to the level of the early 1980s (about 20%). This article presents wage estimates for 1983 to 2020, assuming a 20% union density from 1983 onward, revealing higher earnings and lower wage inequality. However, since union membership today typifies low-wage workers with weaker bargaining power than formerly, the benefits from restoring union density and power will likely be lower today than in the past.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 400-411 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Work and Occupations |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2023.
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
-
SDG 1 No Poverty -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Keywords
- income inequality
- labor unions
- union membership
- union revitalization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
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