Report: Union membership helps the next generation

The importance of unions is something that can't be underestimated. This blog has noted it many times. However, a new report goes even further. It states union membership could even help your kids' future.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) document says that union members make up a disproportionate amount of the middle class, due largely to the premium pay such workers receive. In addition, the offspring of union parents have higher incomes than the children of otherwise comparable non-union parents. And finally, kids hailing from communities with higher union density have higher average incomes than those from communities with lower union density.

As Business Insider wrote:

The correlation, the study said, could have serious implications in the way that the public thinks about unions.

"A strong union movement is not simply sufficient for high levels of intergenerational mobility and middle-class membership, but it could be necessary," wrote the researchers.

"If that is the case, it will be difficult to meaningfully increase intergenerational mobility and rebuild the middle class without also rebuilding unions or some comparable worker-based organizations."

The Teamsters have been outspoken advocates for union membership as well because it helps everyday Americans. It's a fact, as Bureau of Labor Statistics' data shows the median union worker makes more than $200 a week than the median non-union one.

Increasing union density is a top goal of the Teamsters' "Let's Get America Working" platform. Union jobs give hardworking Americans a path into the middle class, as the NBER report attests. That's why unions and workers need to join together. Union Strong, America Stronger!

Los Angeles shows a $15 minimum wage is possible

The $15 an hour minimum wage fight gained some serious momentum last week when the Los Angeles City Council approved such a pay rate for workers in the nation's second-largest city. And those pushing to bring a living wage nationwide are making it clear they aren't done yet.

Thousands protested for a $15 minimum wage last week.

Getting local elected leaders to sign off on such an increase, which will be phased in between now and 2020, was not easy. It took months of back-and-forth with members of the City Council and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to get it done. But the 14-1 vote in favor of the raise shows the measure had broad support.

It also shows, as the New York Times wrote in an editorial, how badly needed it is:

Workers’ share of the economic pie has been shrinking for decades, as the gains from labor productivity have flowed increasingly to profits rather than pay. A result has been an economy that is less resilient and more unequal. Low-wage workers who have been demonstrating for higher pay are leading politicians where they need to go, and the real leaders among those politicians are following the workers.

More efforts like this are essential because income inequality is a growing problem is this country. A report released late last year by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that wealth inequality has soared in the last three decades, with the top 0.1 percent share of wealth growing from seven percent in 1978 to 22 percent in 2013.

A proven way to level the playing field is to join a union like the Teamsters. The labor movement takes a stand for increased wages, raising the standard of living for hardworking Americans, ensuring quality working conditions and better benefits for workers and their families. And the median union employee makes more than $200 a week more than a non-union one.

But that isn't possible for all workers. Which is why the efforts of workers, unions and community groups in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle -- which all have approved plans to increase their minimum wages to $15 -- are so essential.

The campaigns may not ultimately be the same in other places. But they will still result in more pay for low-wage workers. As reported in the Washington Post:

Supporters in other cities and states know that a $15 minimum wage just won’t fly. Some have much lower wage levels already, like Kansas City, where activists are pushing a new $13 minimum wage. Some boosted their minimums recently and don’t have an appetite for more. Still, activists are exploring other options.

The push for a living wage is alive and well. It's time for more elected officials -- including those in Congress -- to join the party.