Source: Janelle Jones and John Schmitt, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), February 2014
From the press release:
For over 50 years, black workers in the United States have found union representation to be a source of higher quality jobs than would otherwise be available. These jobs played an important role in creating a path to the middle class for many African Americans and their families. A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), demonstrates that despite a long decline in unionization rates in the United States, unions continue to boost the wages and benefits of black workers. ….
… Among the highlights of the “Union Advantage for Black Workers” report:
- Unionized African-American workers earn, on average, 15.6 percent more than their non-union counterparts.
- Almost three-fourths of unionized black workers had health insurance through their employer or union, compared to less than half of non-unionized black workers.
- Almost twice as many black workers had an employer-sponsored retirement plan as black workers who were not in a union.
- While unionization boosted the wages and benefits of black workers at all levels of educational attainment, the benefits of union representation were largest for less-educated workers.
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Abstract