A fascinating graph by Colin Gordon for Dissent magazine shows the relationship in the United States between union membership and inequality.
A fascinating graph by Colin Gordon for Dissent magazine illustrates the relationship in the United States between union membership and inequality. Essentially, as union membership has declined (the blue line) the share of income going to the top 10 per cent has increased (the red line).
You can play around with the variables using the drop down menus, switching between the top 10 per cent and the top five and one per cents. You can also switch between private and public sector union membership.
Not, I imagine, something we didn’t already suspect, but it’s useful to have it put so clearly.
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11 Responses to “Union membership and the arc of inequality (graph)”
SadButMadLad
Interesting that the chart stops at 2009, the start of the recession. A time when union membership would increase as wages get squeezed and workers feel it would be useful to have a union behind them as they try and keep their wages high. In times of a boom, with wages rising naturally, the need for unions is pretty much non-existent.
As Arthur says, correlation is not causation.
SadButMadLad
Interesting that the chart stops at 2009, the start of the recession. A time when union membership would increase as wages get squeezed and workers feel it would be useful to have a union behind them as they try and keep their wages high. In times of a boom, with wages rising naturally, the need for unions is pretty much non-existent.
As Arthur says, correlation is not causation.
SadButMadLad
Interesting that the chart stops at 2009, the start of the recession. A time when union membership would increase as wages get squeezed and workers feel it would be useful to have a union behind them as they try and keep their wages high. In times of a boom, with wages rising naturally, the need for unions is pretty much non-existent.
As Arthur says, correlation is not causation.
SadButMadLad
Interesting that the chart stops at 2009, the start of the recession. A time when union membership would increase as wages get squeezed and workers feel it would be useful to have a union behind them as they try and keep their wages high. In times of a boom, with wages rising naturally, the need for unions is pretty much non-existent.
As Arthur says, correlation is not causation.
salamisausage
Nonsense. The growth in earnings of the top ten
percent in the USA plots the development of the internet and WWW as a
means of generating extraordinary wealth for entrepreneurs. The
decline in union membership is likely to be affected by the same
phenomenon; the decline in blue-collar workers as commerce moves more
on-line.