Higher wages, better benefits, and good working conditions are the most obvious advantages of being organized in a union. Based on the latest government statistics, union workers earn almost $10 an hour MORE in wages and benefits, compared with non-union workers.

The average total compensation package for union workers is valued at $31.64 an hour, while non-union workers trailed far behind at $21.81 an hour.

This data is published by the U.S. Department of Labor in an annual report on “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation.” The latest report was dated September 2003.

Union workers earned an average weekly wage of $819, while non-union workers earned 28 percent less, or $640 a week. The union advantage in wages alone is $179 a week. Figure 1 compares wages for union and non-union workers by occupation. 

The union advantage for benefits like medical, vacation, and retirement is even higher--almost double that of unorganized workers. The weekly value of these benefits for unionized workers is $447 and only $233 for non-union workers--a difference of $214 a week more for the union worker. Figure 2 shows the monthly value of being unionized.

Union workers get better health care. They get medical plans from their employers worth an average of $518 a month, while medical benefits for nonunion workers are worth only $225 a month.

Union workers get much better retirement benefits--$309 a month, compared with only $97 a month for non-union workers. This is over three times higher than that of non-union workers.

Union workers get more disability pay, more premium pay, more vacation, more holidays, and more sick leave pay then non-union workers.

If you add wages and benefits, union workers received a total compensation package worth an average of $1,266 a week, while non-union workers got only $872. This is a union advantage of over $393 a week, or 145 percent more. Over one year, the union advantage is worth $20,446 -- almost $10 an hour more.