“Unions Make the Middle Class,” released Monday by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, points out that unions make the middle class by ensuring workers have a strong voice in both the workplace and in our democracy. The study found when unions are strong they are able to ensure that workers are paid fair wages, receive the training they need to advance to the middle class, and are considered in corporate decision-making processes.
Unions also promote political participation among all Americans, and help workers secure government policies that support the middle class, such as Social Security, family leave, and the minimum wage.
Across the globe, the countries with the strongest middle classes all have strong union movements. In this country, the states with higher concentrations of union members have a much stronger middle class. The 10 states with the lowest percentage of workers in unions all have a relatively weak middle class, the report says. In fact, each percentage point increase in union membership puts about $153 more per year into the pockets of the middle class, the report found.
Yet, over the past four decades, union membership has declined as business and its political allies changed the legal and political environment to prevent private-sector workers from freely exercising their right to join a union. Now, some governors are trying to do the same thing to public employees.
Without the counterbalance of workers united in unions, the middle class withers because the economy and politics tend to be dominated by the rich and powerful, which in turn leads to an even greater flow of money in our economy to the top of income scale, the report says.
Unions also give workers a greater voice not only by promoting political participation among all Americans and by being an advocate on behalf of the middle class in the daily, inner-workings of government and politics, according to the report. This provides a check on other powerful political interests, such as corporations and the very wealthy, and ensures that our system of government has a balance of interests.
“The challenge of rebuilding the middle class will take a long time, but would be impossible without a clear understanding of what makes the middle class strong,” the report concludes. “To rebuild America’s middle class, we need to rebuild the labor movement. It’s that simple—and that challenging.”
For more information
Read the full report.
James Parks writes for the AFL-CIO news blog, where this article originally appeared.
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“Unions Make the Middle Class,” released Monday by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, points out that unions make the middle class by ensuring workers have a strong voice in both the workplace and in our democracy. The study found when unions are strong they are able to ensure that workers are paid fair wages, receive the training they need to advance to the middle class, and are considered in corporate decision-making processes.
Unions also promote political participation among all Americans, and help workers secure government policies that support the middle class, such as Social Security, family leave, and the minimum wage.
Across the globe, the countries with the strongest middle classes all have strong union movements. In this country, the states with higher concentrations of union members have a much stronger middle class. The 10 states with the lowest percentage of workers in unions all have a relatively weak middle class, the report says. In fact, each percentage point increase in union membership puts about $153 more per year into the pockets of the middle class, the report found.
Yet, over the past four decades, union membership has declined as business and its political allies changed the legal and political environment to prevent private-sector workers from freely exercising their right to join a union. Now, some governors are trying to do the same thing to public employees.
Without the counterbalance of workers united in unions, the middle class withers because the economy and politics tend to be dominated by the rich and powerful, which in turn leads to an even greater flow of money in our economy to the top of income scale, the report says.
Unions also give workers a greater voice not only by promoting political participation among all Americans and by being an advocate on behalf of the middle class in the daily, inner-workings of government and politics, according to the report. This provides a check on other powerful political interests, such as corporations and the very wealthy, and ensures that our system of government has a balance of interests.
“The challenge of rebuilding the middle class will take a long time, but would be impossible without a clear understanding of what makes the middle class strong,” the report concludes. “To rebuild America’s middle class, we need to rebuild the labor movement. It’s that simple—and that challenging.”
For more information
Read the full report.
James Parks writes for the AFL-CIO news blog, where this article originally appeared.