As union membership has fallen, the top 10 percent have been getting a larger share of income
By Lawrence Mishel and Jessica Schieder
May 24, 2016 - Economic Policy Institute
As union membership has fallen over the last few decades, the share of income
going to the top 10 percent has steadily increased. Union membership fell to
11.1 percent in 2014, where it remained in 2015 (not shown in the figure). The
share of income going to the top 10 percent, meanwhile, hit 47.2 percent in
2014—only slightly lower than 47.8 percent in 2012, the highest it has been
since 1917 (the earliest year data are available). When union membership was at
its peak (33.4 percent in 1945) the share of income going to the top 10 percent
was only 32.6 percent.
The single
largest factor suppressing wage growth for working people and
suppressing union membership over the last few decades has been the erosion of
collective bargaining. This erosion has affected both union and nonunion workers
alike, contributing to wage stagnation and growth in inequality. To boost wages
for working people, policymakers need
to intentionally tilt power back to working people by strengthening their
rights to stand together and negotiate collectively for better wages and
benefits, raising and improving labor standards, and achieving persistent low
unemployment.