Posts Categorized: Reports

Intergenerational social mobility is strongly linked to union membership, according to a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, a non-profit research organization.

The paper, whose lead author was Harvard economist Richard Freeman, found the offspring of union members earned higher incomes than the offspring of non-union parents. For the offspring of parents who did not attend college, the paper found the average income of union children was 16 percent higher than that of non-union children.

In addition, the paper found union children achieve higher levels of education and better health status than non-union children. The paper, a version of which was presented recently at the liberal Center for American Progress, attributed the difference to “the union wage premium raising parental income” and to the “intergenerational transmission of union status.”

The paper also found that offspring from communities with high union density earned more money compared to their parents than offspring from areas with lower union density. The authors attribute this finding to “spillover effects of unionism,” indicating unions tend to advocate for policies that benefit non-union and union members, including raising the minimum wage, increasing education spending and improving public services.

In an op-ed posted in The Hill , UFCW International President Marc Perrone writes that it’s “Time to change our reliance on low-wage, part-time jobs.”

He continues, saying that in today’s economy, far too many working families are being forced to work multiple, low-wage jobs in order to make ends meet, thanks to employers cutting hours and not paying a living wage. Specifically, he says that Walmart and its business model are driving this trend:

“Take Walmart, the largest private employer in the country, where tens of thousands workers rely on taxpayer-funded programs like food stamps just to survive.

We must not expect better from companies like Walmart; we must demand it.

Already we’ve seen workers from across the country join together to fight and take back control of their lives. Low-wage, part-time workers across the retail and the service industries are standing up for their right to higher wages, better benefits, and a voice on the job.

The simple fact is that incredibly dedicated workers, like Fermín Rodriguez of Los Angeles, California, have been at the forefront of the fight for better wages and working conditions.

Rodriguez works at the El Super grocery chain that has chosen to follow Walmart’s poor wage business model.

Instead of acknowledging their responsibility to workers like Rodriguez, El Super went as far as to illegally fire him for speaking out for workplace changes that would improve the lives of his family and coworkers. Even in 2015, it took a rare court order demanding the company immediately remedy their unlawful treatment to get his job back.

The case of Rodriguez is sadly not new or unique.

Yesterday, at the White House’s Summit on Worker Voice, the struggles of Rodriguez and many other hard-working men and women were heard by the administration, employers, and advocates. It’s time America heard the real life struggles of those across the retail and other industries.

But talk will not be enough. We must take action.”