Unions improve communities and ALL workers, not just members

In high-union-density states, 2023 median household income was on average more than $12,000 higher than in low-union-density states. Between 1979–2024, median, or midpoint, wages increased more in states where unionization declined less.

In states with higher union densities, the share of people without any form of health insurance was 5.7%; this rate was 9% in states with lower union densities.

States with higher rates of unionization spend substantially more per pupil on education than low-union-density states ($22,777 per pupil vs. $15,568).

About 70% of states with the highest union density have enacted paid sick leave legislation, compared with just 11.8% of low-union-density states.

Since 2021, voter restriction laws passed in low-union-density states seven times as often (44) as in high-union-density states (6).

Note: EPI categorizes union density as the share of workers in a state who are members of a union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement, and averages the data across three years. So “2024” unionization rates are the average, by state, of unionization rates from 2022, 2023 and 2024. EPI uses 1979 as the baseline year because that years was the peak before the steep drop in unionization that began in the 1980s. EPI divided the 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia into three equally sized groups based on their current (2022–2024) level of union density. There are 17 states with the highest union density (with 13.4%–25.5% of workers covered); the next 17 states (including D.C.) are “medium-union-density states” (with 8.2%–13.1% of workers covered); and the remaining 17 are “low-union-density states” (with 3.0%–8.1% of workers covered).

However, unions don’t just improve workers’ paychecks. Indeed, rebuilding worker power by strengthening unions is not just good policy—it is a democratic imperative in the face of authoritarian backsliding.

 “Unions also have powerful effects on people’s lives outside of work,” say EPI report authors Celine McNicholas, Margaret Poydock, Heidi Shierholz and Hilary Wething. “They help foster solidarity, promote civic and political engagement, provide reliable information to working-class communities about how economic policies impact their lives, and serve as a counterweight to corporate power in our democracy. Throughout history, unions have been engines of resistance to entrenched and undemocratic power—mobilizing working people to challenge inequality, defend civil rights, and push back against authoritarianism in all its forms.

 “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. They shape the social and political fabric of the communities they operate in, lifting standards for union and nonunion workers alike.

“High union density is consistently associated with a much broader set of positive spillover effects across multiple dimensions: from higher wages and better benefits; to more equitable tax systems; safer workplaces; stronger public services; and healthier, more inclusive democracies,” the report says. “Unions don’t just improve workers’ paychecks—they shape the social and political fabric of the communities they operate in, lifting standards for union and nonunion workers alike, while their political advocacy helps to drive an array of strongly positive outcomes, especially in states where unions represent a sizeable share of the workforce.”

EPI findings show seven key effects of unionization:

* Higher wages and decreased income inequality. On average, a worker covered by a union contract earns 12.8% more in wages than a peer in a nonunionized workplace in the same industry with a similar education, occupation and level of experience. But unions don’t just help union workers—they help all workers. Nonunion workers benefit too because unions effectively set broader standards, which nonunion employers must meet to attract and retain the workers they need. (See chart at bottom for the correlation between recent decades’ loss of union density nationwide and the rise of income inequality.)

* Smaller racial wage gaps. Unions have historically reduced wage gaps between Black and white workers. since World War II, Black workers were more likely to be in unions and received a larger wage premium for union membership. Now, Black workers represented by a union are paid 12.6% more than their nonunionized Black peers, and Hispanic workers represented by a union are paid 16.4% more than their nonunionized Hispanic peers.

* Higher wages for women. On average, the wages of women represented by a union are 9.8% higher than those of nonunionized women with comparable characteristics. Further, there is suggestive evidence that within workplaces, union bargaining reduces gender wage gaps.

* Increased government revenue and less need for safety net programs. Unionization has a range of positive economic impacts in addition to decreasing wage inequality and raising wages for historically disadvantaged groups. Unionized workers have more income and therefore pay more taxes. Also, unionized workers need fewer public benefits. Higher incomes let workers and their families be less dependent on government benefits.

* Greater access to employer-sponsored benefits including health insurance, retirement and paid leave. Union workers are far more likely than nonunion workers to be covered by employer-provided health insurance – more than 9 in 10 unionized workers have employer-sponsored health benefits (compared with just 71% of nonunion workers), and union employers contribute more to their employees’ health-care benefits. Furthermore, union employers are more likely to contribute more toward retirement plans than comparable nonunion employers. Union workers are also more likely to have paid sick days, vacation and holidays, more input into the number of hours they work, and more predictable schedules.

* Strengthened health and safety. Union contracts also require safety equipment and empower workers to report unsafe conditions without retaliation. So-called Right-To-Work (“for less”) legislation that weakens unions has been associated with a roughly 14% increase in the rate of occupational fatalities.

* Increased civic engagement and broader community benefits. Beyond wages, benefits and safety, recent scholarship shows the indirect effect unions have on people’s political and personal attitudes and on the broader community and economy as a whole. Union membership reduces white racial resentment, increases political advocacy, specifically related to worker empowerment and economic justice. Conversely, weakening unions significant long-term political and economic effects, such as lower voter turnout, lower organized labor contributions, less voter mobilization, fewer working-class candidates serving in state legislatures and Congress, and less pro-worker state policy.

Again, this August report – https://www.epi.org/publication/unions-arent-just-good-for-workers-they-also-benefit-communities-and-democracy/#full-report outlines a strong correlation between areas’ levels of union density and a range of measurements of economic, personal and democratic well-being. Unions give workers ways to influence our working conditions, which helps people shape their communities, leading to more equitable economic, social and democratic structures.