A new study from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) asks the question, “What would happen if union membership tripled in the United States?” According to the study’s findings, wages would grow in tandem with the economy, the middle class would thrive, and broad economic growth would become a reality.
The report examines what Americans would gain if current union membership tripled to 1950s levels. It would strengthen democracy, strengthen communities, boost the number of Americans with health insurance, and would deliver a 14.5 percent annual raise for the median worker.
Unfortunately, the opposite has been the case over the last four decades. Big corporations and the billionaires who run them have waged a war against unions. They have largely succeeded in reshaping the U.S. economy by making it harder for Americans to join unions. The wealth of the richest 0.1 percent of Americans is more than five times the combined wealth of the entire bottom half of the country.
“It will take serious policy change to reverse nearly 50 years of deliberate attacks on working people and their institutions,” according to EPI. “It will require that politicians stand up to the superrich and corporate interests. It will require that workers continue to build power. But, as this report shows, we have much to gain from stronger unions. An organized and empowered workforce has powerful and far-reaching economic benefits.”
Click here to download a PDF of the report, “The case for tripling union membership.”