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Posted by RicodJour on August 5, 2008, 7:56 pm
> Economic Policy Institute
>
> How unions help all workers
>
> by Lawrence Mishel and Matthew Walters
>
> Unions have a substantial impact on the compensation and work lives of
> both unionized and non-unionized workers. This report presents current
> data on unions' effect on wages, fringe benefits, total compensation,
> pay inequality, and workplace protections.
>
> Some of the conclusions are:
>
> =95 Unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise
> compensation, including both wages and benefits, by about 28%.
>
> =95 Unions reduce wage inequality because they raise wages more for low-
> and middle-wage workers than for higher-wage workers, more for blue-
> collar than for white-collar workers, and more for workers who do not
> have a college degree.
>
> =95 Strong unions set a pay standard that nonunion employers follow. For
> example, a high school graduate whose workplace is not unionized but
> whose industry is 25% unionized is paid 5% more than similar workers
> in less unionized industries.
>
> =95 The impact of unions on total nonunion wages is almost as large as
> the impact on total union wages.
>
> =95 The most sweeping advantage for unionized workers is in fringe
> benefits. Unionized workers are more likely than their nonunionized
> counterparts to receive paid leave, are approximately 18% to 28% more
> likely to have employer-provided health insurance, and are 23% to 54%
> more likely to be in employer-provided pension plans.
>
> =95 Unionized workers receive more generous health benefits than
> nonunionized workers. They also pay 18% lower health care deductibles
> and a smaller share of the costs for family coverage. In retirement,
> unionized workers are 24% more likely to be covered by health
> insurance paid for by their employer.
>
> =95 Unionized workers receive better pension plans. Not only are they
> more likely to have a guaranteed benefit in retirement, their
> employers contribute 28% more toward pensions.
>
> =95 Unionized workers receive 26% more vacation time and 14% more total
> paid leave (vacations and holidays).
>
> Unions play a pivotal role both in securing legislated labor
> protections and rights such as safety and health, overtime, and family/
> medical leave and in enforcing those rights on the job. Because
> unionized workers are more informed, they are more likely to benefit
> from social insurance programs such as unemployment insurance and
> workers compensation. Unions are thus an intermediary institution that
> provides a necessary complement to legislated benefits and
> protections.
>
> The union wage premium
>
> It should come as no surprise that unions raise wages, since this has
> always been one of the main goals of unions and a major reason that
> workers seek collective bargaining. How much unions raise wages, for
> whom, and the consequences of unionization for workers, firms, and the
> economy have been studied by economists and other researchers for over
> a century (for example, the work of Alfred Marshall). This section
> presents evidence from the 1990s that unions raise the wages of
> unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise total compensation by about
> 28%.
>
> The research literature generally finds that unionized workers'
> earnings exceed those of comparable nonunion workers by about 15%, a
> phenomenon known as the "union wage premium."
>
> Millwright Ron
>
> www.unionmillwright.com
It's interesting that in all of that, qaulity/craftsmanship is not
mentioned once. I understand the marketing - "You want more and we
get it for you" - but shouldn't your marketing be offering something
in return? "We cost more, but we're worth it" or something like
that. Because just reading what you posted I can easily believe
people would see the differences as potential areas of saving.
It's a tough economy - always offer people something when you're
asking for something so it will take the sting out of paying the
premium.
R
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