Do unions raise wages?
Unions want you to think so. The Machinists web site says:
"Union members earn wages, on average, 27 percent higher than nonunion workers."
Does that mean you'll get a 27% raise if you vote in a union?
Not necessarily.
What really happens to their wages when workers unionize?
Research studies show that becoming unionized DOES NOT raise workers' wages faster than if they had not unionized, and that, on average, pay in newly-unionized companies actually GOES DOWN.
Here's the research:
1. Researchers watched organizations where workers voted to unionize and organizations where workers voted against a
union. They found that, over several years, wages in plants that voted against unionized increased at the same rate as wages in plants that voted in a union. But workers in the unionized plants had to start paying dues in most instances. To learn more, click here.
2. A Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University found that:
"Higher-paid workers were more likely to leave after a union victory, and younger, lower-paid workers were relatively more likely to come."
Experienced, high-performing workers apparently did not want to work in an environment where everyone was paid the same, and so many left. As a result, average pay for the entire group went down. To see this study, click here.
How do unions get away with saying unionized workers make more?
Because they say unionized workers make more ON AVERAGE.
But the factors that raise the AVERAGE pay of union workers have nothing to do with them being unionized.
Unionized workers are found in some of the highest paid industries - but being unionized has nothing to do with how well those workers are paid.
Who are some of the highest-paid workers in the United States? Professional athletes. Actors and actresses in movies and on television. Chart-topping musicians. Unions that represent these workers include:
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Major League Baseball Players Association
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National Football League Players Association
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National Hockey League Players Association
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NBA Players Association
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Screen Actors Guild
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American Federation of Musicians
It's important for you to know that these unions do not bargain pay for individual players or performers.
The unions negotiate base pay rates, but each individual player or actor or performer is free to bargain the best deal he or she can get.
Workers in other unions can't do that.
Unionized workers are concentrated in parts of the country that have the highest cost of living -- where everybody makes more than the national average, regardless of whether they are unionized.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, states with the highest concentration of union workers are New York (24.6%), Alaska (22.8%) and Hawaii (21.8%) - states with the highest cost of living.
States with the lowest concentration of union workers are North Carolina (3.2%), South Carolina (3.2%) and Mississippi (4.5%) - states with low cost of living.
Because union workers live in high cost of living areas more than non-union workers do, their average pay nationwide is higher.
But within each of these states, union and non-union workers are paid about the same.
Unions tend to target the highest-paid workers in the most successful companies for organizing.
Unions target larger and more profitable companies where workers already make good wages because union dues are based on how much workers make. Unions get more money from high-paid workers than they do from workers getting lower pay.
In other words, these workers had above average pay before the union even showed up.
After analyzing pay statistics, one researcher said:
"These findings indicate that the perceived union wage advantage is generally a myth."
To see that study, click here.
In Seattle, unions are promoting a $15.00 per hour minimum wage and mandatory paid sick leave -- EXCEPT FOR UNIONIZED WORKERS.
The Seattle Times reported in June 2015 that some unions that are trying to get mandatory paid sick leave and a $15 minimum wage are saying unionized organizations would not have to meet these requirements. This would allow unionized companies to pay workers less than $15 per hour, and not pay for sick leave.
Why are unions doing this? So non-union companies will allow the unions to organize their workers. If they do, the unions will get more dues-paying members, the companies will be able to pay their workers less - and the unionized workers will be the losers.
To see the entire article, click here.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Becoming represented by a union DOES NOT guarantee you'll get higher pay.
But in many states, it probably DOES guarantee that you'll have to pay the union just to keep your job.