TRIPLING US UNION MEMBERSHIP WOULD SHIFT $1.2TN TO WORKERS ANNUALLY

Tripling union membership in the United States would result in a 14.5% pay increase for the median worker and redirect approximately $1.2 trillion annually to workers, according to a report released by the Economic Policy Institute on Wednesday. The analysis found that such an expansion would narrow racial wage gaps and increase health insurance coverage amongst the workforce. The report examined how union density—the percentage of workers in unions—has declined substantially over recent decades.

Union density in the United States stood above 30% during the 1950s before beginning to decline in the 1960s. By the 1980s, density had fallen to 22.2%, and continued declining to reach 10% in 2025. The Economic Policy Institute attributed this decline to aggressive union-busting by corporations and the introduction of new anti-union legislation. Simultaneously, worker productivity has increased at a rate 2.7 times faster than wage growth since 1979, according to the report's findings.

Should union density increase to 30%, the median worker would receive an annual raise of $7,700, accumulating to nearly $270,000 over a 35-year career, the report states. This expansion would reverse approximately one-third of the rise in inequality recorded since 1979. Public support for unions remains substantial, with surveys showing over 68% of Americans viewed unions favourably in 2025, and over 50 million US workers indicated they would join a union if able to do so.