Study Shows Union's Effect on Wages

(Washington, May 15) - Being a union member significantly augments
wages for lower-paid workers in Arkansas, a study released today by the
Center for Economic and Policy Research shows.  From 2003 to 2007, union
membership boosted the wages of a typical low-wage worker (one in the
10th percentile) in Arkansas by 14.6 percent.  For a typical worker in
the 20th percentile, the boost was also 14.6 percent, and for the
typical worker in the 30th percentile, it was 13.7 percent.  These
findings reflect the national finding that the wages of a typical
low-wage worker were 20.6 percent higher if they belonged to a union.

“For millions of workers who work hard and take home less to show for
it, being part of a union that provides a say on the job is all the more
important,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.  “This study proves
that for workers on the bottom rungs of the pay scale, bargaining power
is the best, and often only, means to gain a leg up to the middle
class.”

While the effect was strongest for workers who earned less, the study
also showed that unionization has a substantial amplifying effect on
wages for all workers - including those whose earnings were in the
middle and top of the wage distribution.  The typical worker in Arkansas
- the earner right in the middle of the state pay scale - saw his or her
wages raised by 12.5 percent due to union membership.  Nationally, the
typical worker saw his or her wages raised by 13.7 percent.

Other recent studies have shown that the union membership boosts the
wages of earners in the middle of the pay scale by as much as 30
percent.  The CEPR study sought to estimate the most accurate average
union wage premiums for workers at different wage levels by controlling
for other worker characteristics including age, gender, location,
education, and industry.

The report analyzed five years of data on 16-to-64 year old workers
from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) for the years
2003 through 2007.  The study was authored by John Schmitt, a Senior
Economist at the CEPR.

To obtain copy of the report “The Union Wage Advantage for Low-Wage
Workers”, go to CEPR's website.