Young workers do better with unions

[IndianaGreen]

Young workers do better with unions

Author: Melissa O'Rourke
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 10/23/08 17:15

For young workers who may not know what the advantages of being in a union are, the question “What’s a union gonna do for me?” was answered in a report released last week by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The report detailed good news and bad news. The bad news is that workers aged 18-29 have the lowest unionization rates of any age group. They have been hit hardest by the stagnant wage growth over the last three decades. This is despite a substantial increase in the number of young workers with college degrees.

The good news is young workers who are in a union make an average of 12.4 percent, or about $1.75 an hour, more than non-union workers. They are also 17 percent more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and 24 percent more likely to have a pension plan.

According to American Rights at Work, the Employee Free Choice Act would give workers a fair and direct path to form unions through majority sign-up, help employees secure a contract with their employer in a reasonable period of time and toughen penalties against employers who violate their rights. Sen. Barack Obama not only supports the legislation, but is a co-sponsor. Sen. McCain opposes it completely.

For young workers in the lowest-wage occupations, the study shows the contrast between union and non-union is even starker. The median young worker in a unionized low-wage occupation earned $10.62, almost two dollars an hour more than the $8.74 the median non-union young worker earned. These benefits also carried over into their health care coverage, where 40 percent of union workers are covered vs. less than 20 percent of non-union workers, and 29 percent had a pension compared to only 11 percent of their non-union counterparts.

http://pww.org/article/articleview/13900/

[electricD]

1. union member checking in

I've been an IBEW member since '94. I first started in '87 working non-union. For 7 years I had no chance to get a raise in pay unless I jumped from one shop to another. And, to talk about insurance, it was only good if you stayed single or chose to keep your family off the insurance plan that the company used. Otherwise, it was anywhere from $10 to $30 a week off your paycheck per dependent.

I never had ANY kind of pension or retirement plan until I joined the union. I couldn't even make ends meet much less put anything into savings when I was working non-union.

Anyways, in reading this article, and having worked both sides of this fence. I realize one main factor with young workers and unions. In the past 30 to almost 40 years there has been a great job done by RW thinkers to do whatever they can to make sure to either disenfranchise and misinform people, young and old, about unions.

The main thing that I've seen is that this country was a great place for every one and employers and employees were better kept in check in almost all aspects when unions were strong.

I have never felt bitter about an employer getting rich from what I do when I work for them. But, I've always felt, that, if they want to make money off of my sweat, at the very LEAST, give me a fair share of the pie and let me provide for me and mine too.

[IndianaGreen]

3. Right to work laws are anti-union

How the GOP lured the working class into opposing its own class interests should be a topic for a grad paper.

[Dr.Phool]

2. Retired UTU member checking in.

I went on Railroad Retirement Disability in 2003, at age 49, and have a good comfortable pension.

Not to mention the 31 years I worked at above average wages, with full benefits and job security.

100% Union then. 100% Union now. 100% Union forever.

Anybody who is against joining a union, needs to have the rocks in their head changed!

[electricD]

4. Anybody who is against joining a union, needs to have the rocks in their head changed!

I'll give a BIG, AMEN to that!!!

[yurbud]

5. I was at a teacher's union function today and I could count the people under 40 on one hand

The union does great stuff for them, but their communications are so dull that it doesn't grab their attention.