A new study put out by Cornell University found that workers who enter a collective unit in their early 20's and work until age 65 make over $1.3 Million more than workers going it alone.
Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) Review published the findings of their study this past week, and they show the value of cumulative years working in a unionized job in a tangible dollar amount. The number is staggering.
"...unionization throughout one’s career is associated with a $1.3 million mean increase in lifetime earnings, larger than the average gains from completing college."
The workers analyzed were no older than 25 in the in the 1969-1974 window in order to have a data set that today would be well into retirement age. The research found that gross lifetime earnings were $3.4 million for union workers and $2.5 for non-union workers -- a 69% increase. This research was unique because it looked at something no one had fully ascertained to this point -- something called the cumulative advantage instead of the point in time analysis other studies looked at.
The Cumulative Advantage of a Unionized Career
The title of the study says it all. Cumulatively, male union workers make out better overall in life. The study controlled for multiple factors such as race, age, and education. Men were studied because there was not enough reliable data for woman occupations in the 1960's. The researchers found that unionization throughout one’s career is associated with a $1.3 million mean increase in lifetime earnings, larger than the average gains from completing college.
Second, the lifetime earnings were realized entirely through higher hourly wages -- not a complex array of value adjusted benefits. Just good old greenbacks in the pocket. They found that the increase gross income occurred despite earlier-than-average retirement for persistently unionized men. So, not only were union members able to retire earlier, they retired having already made more than their cohorts who worked more years.
Lastly, the study found that the union wage premium is not constant throughout a worker’s career. Rather than remain steady as many non-union workers have learned the difficult way the last two decades, the wage instead increased for collective bargaining workers with more years of union membership.
All of this is to say that the cumulative advantages of union membership for workers’ economic well-being are far greater than what previous point-in-time studies suggest. Montanans are realizing that wages that don't keep up with inflation do not add up to a quality life.
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