Key facts
- Tripling US union membership could result in a 14.5% raise for the median worker.
- This increase in union density could shift $1.2 trillion to workers annually.
- Union density in the US was over 30% in the 1950s but has fallen to 10% by 2025.
- Over 68% of Americans view labor unions favorably.
- The report suggests policies like the PRO Act and Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act to boost unionization.
Tripling union membership in the U.S. could result in a significant annual boost to worker pay, estimated at $1.2 trillion, and a 14.5% raise for the median worker, according to a report released Wednesday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
The EPI report highlights that union density, or the rate of union membership across the workforce, was once three times higher than it is today. In the 1950s, union density exceeded 30%, but it has since declined, reaching 10% in 2025. Despite this decline, public approval of labor unions remains strong, with over 68% of Americans viewing them favorably, and an estimated 50 million U.S. workers would join a union if given the opportunity.
The report attributes the decrease in union density to aggressive union-busting tactics by corporations and the enactment of anti-union laws. This decline has coincided with a surge in wealth and income inequality, with worker productivity increasing at a much faster rate than pay since 1979. Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, noted in the report's foreword that the concentration of wealth among the richest Americans has exploded, contributing to the erosion of the middle class.
If union density were to triple to 30%, the median worker could see an annual raise of approximately $7,700, amounting to nearly $270,000 over a 35-year career. Such a shift would also help to narrow racial wage gaps and increase health insurance coverage, potentially reversing one-third of the rise in inequality observed since 1979. Historically, union membership has provided wage premiums of 15% to 20%, and collective bargaining agreements have also benefited non-union workers.
The EPI report outlines several policy recommendations to increase union membership, including passing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act to strengthen collective bargaining rights and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act for public sector workers. Proposals for guaranteed annual raises for newly unionized workers and mandatory collective bargaining at companies with high CEO-to-worker pay ratios are also mentioned. The report estimates that revoking "right to work" laws and restrictions on public sector bargaining alone could increase union density from 9.9% to 14.4%.
Beyond economic benefits, the report also points to improvements in personal health and well-being associated with higher union density, citing increased public education investments, Medicaid expansions, and stronger voting rights in states with greater union participation.