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Last Updated 02/23/2010 17:12
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Union Made Products Union Plus BenefitsApply Now for Joe Beirne Scholarships
 | If you are interested in local Union businesses, please contact local7818@msn.com. We will e-mail you the names of the type of businesses you are looking for. Support
your Union Brothers and Sisters. Can My Boss Do That?
MINIMUM WAGE NEWS: Starting January 1, 2009, minimum wage in Washington went from $8.093 to $8.55. The Federal and Idaho minimum wage is $6.55! Think about this for a moment. What has the Union done for you? Would you be able to support yourself and your family for these wages? Would you be able to purchase health insurance for you and your family after taxes, paying bills, paying your mortgage, etc.? mib
WA Moves Up to
Union membership in Washington State increased by 30,000 in 2007 to an estimated 579,000 and the state's union membership jumped to 20.2% from 19.8% in 2006, according to the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. That increase brings Washington State from 5th to 4th highest in terms of the unionization rates. Only, New York, Alaska and Hawaii, in that order, have higher rates. "Washington State is proving once again that it is good for families and good for business." said Rick Bender, President of the Washington State Labor Council. "Recently Forbes Magazine named Washington's business climate 5th in the nation and that, coupled with the protection that unions bring to Washington families, it is a win, win for everyone." Nationally union density increased by 311,000 to 15.7 million in 2007 which is the largest single-year increase in union membership since 1979. Bender said that the increase in national union membership is a sign that American workers are recognizing the importance of representation and job protection despite the fact that current labor law is tilted in favor of business. According to the Department of Labor's survey full-time wage and salary workers who were union members earned a median salary of $863 while those who were not represented by unions had median weekly earning of $663. Union members also traditionally receive superior benefits as compared to their non-union counterparts including better healthcare and pensions. Note: The DOL news release on union membership statistics and related details are posted at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.toc.htm
Workers at all income levels enjoy better pay if
they're represented by a union, but for low-wage workers being a union member
means an even bigger boost in their earning power, according to a new study from
the Center for Economic and Policy Research. | Nationwide, CEPR said the typical union-represented worker earns 13.7 percent more than non-unionized workers. But for those in the bottom tenth of the wage scale, unions mean an extra 20.6 percent on average, or $1.57 an hour. "Unions give the biggest boost to low-wage workers because these are the workers that have the least bargaining power in the labor market," said John Schmitt, a CEPR senior economist and author of the study. "Unionization has a large and measurable impact on the bargaining power, and therefore the wages, of low-wage workers." The study, "The Union Advantage for Low-Wage Workers" is available online at www.cepr.net. |
