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IT PAYS TO BE UNION!
Union membership brings many benefits to working people.
One of the major benefits includes weekly earnings. The data below shows
that union workers, on average, made $161 or 27% more per week than nonunion
workers in 2003. Furthermore, when breaking it down to both industries and
occupational categories, the union difference becomes even clearer.
WEEKLY EARNINGS ADVANTAGE FOR UNION MEMBERS,
2003
Full-Time Wage and Salary Workers' Median Weekly Earnings
| |
Union |
Non Union |
Union Weekly Advantage |
% Difference |
| All Workers 16 and Over |
$760 |
$599 |
$161 |
27% |
| Race & Gender
White, 16 years & over |
$779 |
$612 |
$167 |
27% |
| Men |
$827 |
$688 |
$139 |
20% |
| Women |
$711 |
$539 |
$172 |
32% |
| Black, 16 years & over |
$665 |
$491 |
$174 |
35% |
| Men |
$693 |
$518 |
$175 |
34% |
| Women |
$633 |
$467 |
$166 |
36% |
| Hispanic or Latino, 16
years & over |
$632 |
$419 |
$213 |
51% |
| Men |
$663 |
$437 |
$226 |
52% |
| Women |
$586 |
$394 |
$192 |
49% |
|
Occupational Breakdown |
|
|
|
|
| Management, professional & related occupations |
$896 |
$886 |
$10 |
1% |
| Professional & related occupations |
$885 |
$833 |
$52 |
6% |
| Services occupations |
$606 |
$382 |
$224 |
59% |
| Office & administrative support occupations |
$639 |
$530 |
$109 |
21% |
| Natural resources, construction &
maintenance occupations |
$851 |
$558 |
$293 |
53% |
| Production, transportation & material
moving occupations |
$688 |
$493 |
$195 |
$40% |
|
Industry Breakdown |
|
|
|
|
| Construction |
$884 |
$580 |
$304 |
52% |
| Durable Good Manufacturing |
$714 |
$655 |
$59 |
9% |
| Nondurable Goods Manufacturing |
$635 |
$590 |
$45 |
8% |
| Transportation & Warehousing |
$782 |
$620 |
$162 |
26% |
| Government |
$809 |
$821 |
($12) |
-1% |
Note: In addition to the earnings benefits gained from
being unionized, some of the union/nonunion difference may be due to
factors such as employee skill level, region of the country, and size of
employer.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, "Union Members in 2003", January 2004.
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