THE WAGE GAP narrows between union and nonunion workers.
Union hourly wage costs rose 12.4% to $16.21 between 1995 and last year, while nonunion wage costs rose 13.8% to $13.54 during the same period. In fact, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonunion wages have been climbing faster than union wages since 1982. Albert Schwenk, an economist for the bureau, attributes the change to an increase in the number of white-collar workers. "White-collar workers get more increases, and union members tend not to be white-collar," he said.
Ron Blackwell, director of corporate affairs for the AFL-CIO, notes the numbers don't include benefits -- union benefits cost $8.53 an hour, compared with $4.66 for nonunion benefits. Also, union wages are still higher, so small differences in growth rates don't matter, he says.
Leo Troy, a labor economist and union critic, says unions are being "left at the train station" by focusing on lower-income workers such as janitors.