Union membership helps raise workers' pay and narrow the income gap that disadvantages minorities and women. Union workers earn 30 percent more than nonunion workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary work were $863 in 2007, compared with $663 for their nonunion counterparts.

The union wage benefit is even greater for minorities and women. Union women earn 33 percent more than nonunion women, African American union members earn 37 percent more than their nonunion counterparts,  for Latino workers, the union advantage equals 51 percent and for Asian American workers, the union advantage is 4 percent.

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS OF FULL-TIME
WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS, 2007

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Union Members in 2007," January 2008.
Prepared by the AFL-CIO.