Source: Midwest Economic Policy Institute (MEPI), August 16, 2016
From the summary:
In Minnesota, construction workers are productive, high-skilled, and well-paid. Over 30 percent of these workers are members of a union. To maintain and increase membership, trade unions in Minnesota must continually demonstrate how workers benefit from contributing dues.
An analysis by the Midwest Economic Policy Institute (MEPI), The Impact of Construction Dues in Minnesota: An Organizational and Individual-Level Analysis, finds that construction unions in Minnesota offer many positive benefits to members:
– Union membership increases the after-tax income of construction workers by $7,720 annually;
– Unions increase construction worker health insurance coverage by 13.1 percentage points; Minnesota’s construction unions spend 75.5 percent of dues and fees on bargaining and representation;
– Only 1.4 percent of all membership dues and fees collected by construction unions in Minnesota are spent on political activities and lobbying – or $17.47 annually per member;
– and For every $1 paid in dues and fees, an estimated $5.59 is returned to members in the construction industry in after-tax income. ….