Union members across the country earn significantly more than non- union workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages were on average 11.3 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, American workers that join a union will earn 11.3 percent more--or $2.26 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. [CAP Report: Unions are Good for the American Economy, 2/18/09]

Latino Union Workers Earn More & Have Better Benefits.  The most recent data suggest that even after controlling for differences between union and non- union workers --including such factors as age and education level -- unionization substantially improves the pay and benefits received by Latino workers. After controlling for workers' characteristics, the union wage premium for all Latino workers is 17.6 percent or about $2.60 per hour. The union advantage for Latino workers is even larger with respect to health insurance and pension coverage. Unionized Latino workers were about 26 percentage points more likely to have health insurance and about 27 percentage points more likely to have a pension than their non-union counterparts. [CEPR Report: Unions and Upward Mobility for Latino Workers, 9/08]

The NLRB Ruled Against a Fort Collins based dry-wall firm specifically on accusations it interfered with union organizing by Latino workers.  In 2000, the Denver Post reported, "Phase 2, a Fort Collins-based drywall and steel stud framing contractor has had an ongoing battle with the Rocky Mountain Regional Council of Carpenters over the firm's treatment of its Latino immigrant workers. Recently, the National Labor Relations Board ruled Phase 2 had interfered with workers attempting to join the union. The company was ordered to post information about the union on several job sites." [Denver Post, 12/3/00]

• Unionized Denver drywall workers earn an average of  $4.25 per hour than non-unionized drywall workers.  The Orlando Sentinel reported, "A seasoned union drywall worker in Denver earns $17.25 an hour, and receives benefits worth an additional $5 an hour, union leaders say. Nonunion drywall workers are typically paid as little as $13 an hour, and receive no benefits." [Orlando Sentinel, 1/22/06]

Higher Wages & Benefits Help U.S. Economy by Giving Workers the Ability to Purchase More Goods & Services: According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund report, unionization is good for the economy overall and "putting more money in workers' pockets would provide a needed boost for the U.S. economy." Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stated that higher wages and higher benefits would give workers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services that this economy produces. [CAP Report: Unions are Good for the American Economy, 2/18/09]

Workers at Laradon Hall Waited 18 Months for Their First Contract and Faced Continuous Intimidation. Roberta Ayala, a teacher's assistant a Laradon Hall in Denver, described how hard it was for she and her coworkers to get their first contract after voting to join a union. She wrote, "Eighty percent of us signed cards supporting the union. But the school refused to recognize our decision. We filed for an election and that's when management began harassing and intimidating us. They even fired several teachers' assistants--making our staffing problems even worse. They wanted to scare us. They wanted us to give up. But it didn't work--we won our election... Management continued their intimidation tactics even after we won our election. The facility experienced a 70 percent turnover in staff because of the campaign waged by management... Eighteen months after our election, we finally won our first contract. We finally won a voice in classroom decisions. But it shouldn't have been this hard to win improvements for our students." [SEIU, "Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act," accessed 5/19/09]

It Took Over a Year for DIA Train Workers to Get Their First Contract After Joining a Union. In 2000, the Denver Post reported, "The company that operates and maintains Denver International Airport's train system and a union that represents 40 of the firm's workers reached a contract settlement late Thursday afternoon, averting a threatened midnight strike. Workers represented by the International Union of Elevator Constructors were seeking their first contract with the train firm, Adtranz, after 13 months of bargaining. The new labor pact contains wage and benefit increases for the Adtranz workers, said Dale Coalmer, business manager for elevator constructors union Local 25." [Denver Post, 2/18/00]

Management of Exempla St. Joseph Hospital Delayed First Contract with Nurses For 18 Months, Waiting for the Workers to Give Up. In 2002, the Denver Business Journal reported, "Emergency department workers at Saint Joseph Hospital are cutting union ties after failing to reach a contract with the department's management. Eighteen months ago, about 60 workers at Exempla Healthcare's Saint Joseph Hospital became the first health care employees to unionize in Colorado in more than 20 years. The small group, however, couldn't strike a deal with Saint Joseph's outside emergency room management company, Maricor. 'We never should have organized a subcontractor of a hospital. ... They are not going to let the tail of the dog wag the dog,' said Ernest L. Duran Jr., president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, the union that represents the hospital workers. 'We didn't have the power. People think the negotiating process is this sophisticated, intellectual process. It's not. It's all about power.'" [Denver Business Journal, 2/22/02]

When Nurses at St. Anthony's Were Organizing a Union Vote, Management Brought in Outside Anti-Union Consultant to Scare Them Off. In 2003, the Denver Westword reported, "Three years ago the SEIU was involved in an effort to unionize nurses at St. Anthony's two area hospitals. St. Anthony hired Kansas City-based Management Science Associates, a firm that specializes in battling union drives in the health-care industry, and soon the nurses were deluged with anti-union propaganda and forced to attend meetings warning them about the dangers of forming a union. 'The only reason we were trying to organize was to have a voice,' says Bernie Patterson, a St. Anthony nurse who was active in the union drive. 'Our Catholic, non-profit hospital hired a consulting firm and spent millions to fight us. It was really ugly.' Patterson's group eventually had to withdraw its petition for an election because many of the nurses who originally supported the union were frightened away. 'Even the nurses who believed we needed a voice were losing their confidence,' she says." [Denver Westword, 6/12/03]

Union Members in North Dakota and Across the Country Earn Significantly More Than Non-Union Workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in North Dakota were on average 13.8 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, North Dakota workers that join a union will earn 13.8 percent more--or $2.28 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. [Unions are Good for North Dakota's Economy, 2/18/09]

• Employee Free Choice Would Pump Money Into Rural Economies. The League of Rural Voters writes, "Declining worker incomes have meant declining incomes for farmers and ranchers who produce food, fiber and biofuels. And that means less money has been coming into the rural economy. A big reason for shrinking worker paychecks is that big business has made it nearly impossible to join unions and bargain for solid benefits and fair wages (15 - 25 percent higher than non-union jobs). In fact, thousands of people are illegally fired every year just because they tried to organize a union. The Employee Free Choice Act can help level the playing field by making it easier for people to join unions and bargain for a better standard of living. It can give regular working folks the purchasing power to revive the economy - and to buy the products we grow and sell in rural America." [League of Rural Voters, 5/19/09]
• Higher Wages & Benefits Help U.S. Economy by Giving Workers the Ability to Purchase More Goods & Services. According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund report, unionization is good for the economy overall and "putting more money in workers' pockets would provide a needed boost for the U.S. economy." Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stated that higher wages and higher benefits would give workers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services that this economy produces. [CAP Report: Unions are Good for the American Economy, 2/18/09]

Workers At Dakota Gasification Co. Waited More Than a Year for Their First Contract. In July 2001, the Bismarck Tribune reported, "Tuesday's decision by the Dakota Gasification Co., board of directors to approve its first union contract for plant workers ends months of uncertainty for both sides. It also means that the 447 plant workers who were represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers during contract negotiations can now become union members. Their membership was pending a union-bargained contract, which hit some rough sledding the last two months, including a confidential strike vote and federal mediation." [Bismarck Tribune, 7/12/01]

• Union Accused Management of Changing Items in a Negotiated Contract. In June 2000, workers at Dakota Gasification Co. voted to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. In June 2001, the Bismarck Tribune reported, "Dakota Gasification Co. workers have ratified what they believe is the company's contract offer, but negotiations could end up in a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers approved their version of the contract Tuesday, charging that plant owner Basin Electric Power Cooperative changed or deleted a number of negotiated items. Union business manager Gary Leinius said if Basin doesn't accept the contract ratification after it's presented to them Monday, the union will make a formal complaint based on bad faith negotiations." [Bismarck Tribune, 6/14/01, 6/21/00]

Union Accused MDU Resources Group of Failing to Negotiate in Good Faith. In August 2008, "The International Union of Operating Engineers/Local 49 filed an Unfair Labor Practices charge against Knife River, a construction materials and mining subsidiary of Bismarck-based MDU Resources Group Inc. Knife River is an aggregate producer in Sauk Rapids, Minn. Local 49 business manager Glen Johnson said the 25 workers at the Minnesota plant approached Local 49 for representation in negotiating a contract in January. After nine months without success, Local 49 filed the charges, saying that Knife River was not negotiating fairly and in good faith... Johnson said he believes the company is deliberately trying not to come to an agreement, because after a total of 12 months they are no longer legally obligated to negotiate the contract." [Bismarck Tribune, 8/13/08]

Union members in Pennsylvania and across the country earn significantly more than non- union workers. "Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in Pennsylvania were on average 9.4 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, Pennsylvania workers that join a union will earn 9.4 percent more--or $1.77 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts." [Unions are Good for Pennsylvania's Economy, 2/18/09]
 
Unionization rewards workers for productivity growth. "Slow wage growth has squeezed the middle class and contributed to rising inequality. But increasing union coverage rates could likely reverse these trends as more Americans would benefit from the union wage premium and receive higher wages. If unionization rates were the same now as they were in 1983 and the current union wage premium remained constant, new union workers in Pennsylvania would earn an estimated $2.5 billion more in wages and salaries per year. If union coverage rates increased by just 5 percentage points over current levels, Pennsylvania's newly unionized workers would earn an estimated $852 million more in wages and salaries per year. Non-union workers would also benefit as employers would likely raise wages to match what unions would win in order to avoid unionization." [Unions are Good for Pennsylvania's Economy, 2/18/09]
 
Employee Free Choice Would Pump Money Into Rural Economies. The League of Rural Voters writes, "Declining worker incomes have meant declining incomes for farmers and ranchers who produce food, fiber and biofuels. And that means less money has been coming into the rural economy. A big reason for shrinking worker paychecks is that big business has made it nearly impossible to join unions and bargain for solid benefits and fair wages (15 - 25 percent higher than non-union jobs). In fact, thousands of people are illegally fired every year just because they tried to organize a union. The Employee Free Choice Act can help level the playing field by making it easier for people to join unions and bargain for a better standard of living. It can give regular working folks the purchasing power to revive the economy - and to buy the products we grow and sell in rural America." [League of Rural Voters, accessed 5/19/09]
 
Higher Wages & Benefits Help U.S. Economy by Giving Workers the Ability to Purchase More Goods & Services: According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund report, unionization is good for the economy overall and "putting more money in workers' pockets would provide a needed boost for the U.S. economy." Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stated that higher wages and higher benefits would give workers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services that this economy produces. [CAP Report: Unions are Good for the American Economy, 2/18/09]

Ever wonder how, exactly unions are formed? The Center for American Progress is out with a new video that explains the process step-by-step.

Watch it here:

The main point of the video is simple: it's really, really hard to join a union. Only one in seven union drives will ultimately reach a point where they get a first contract within a year.

Here's the gist:

When a group of co-workers decide that they want to form a union, they sign cards that say they'd like to join. The process continues until at least 30% of the employees sign the cards, but most unions wait until around 50% or even 70% of employees sign them, for reasons that will become clear in just a moment.

At this point, the boss gets to make a choice. If the signed cards totals 50% plus one, then the employer can choose to recognize the union, since there's a majority. We call that "majority signup."

But if the boss chooses not to recognize the union through majority signup, they have a second option - even though a majority have said they want a union, forcing a process called the "secret ballot."

This is what the Employee Free Choice Act is all about: we want employees to make the choice, not their bosses.

In a secret ballot election, the boss gets to decide how, when and under what conditions the process is held. Many employers use the "secret ballot" method as a way to drag the process out. This election can be delayed for weeks, months, even years - enough time to scare employees into changing their minds.

During a "secret ballot" election, here's what a typical employee might face:

• 91% of the time, workers experience one-on-one meetings with their bosses, who may threaten anything from changing their hours, shipping their job overseas, or even closing down the company completely.
• In 82% of cases, workers may be observed or receive visits from union-busting public relations firms and lawyers.
• In 25% of cases, employees are illegally fired during the course of trying to join a union.
• 40% of the time, there's simply never a vote.

The Employee Free Choice Act gives employees - not CEOs - the free choice to join unions. It's designed, not to stifle your rights, but to level the playing field so that it's the workers who get to decide: they can choose to organize under either the majority signup method, or the secret ballot method.