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James,
This Women's History Month is a perfect time to celebrate the capacity
for upward mobility women have gained in the workforce—especially when
it comes to labor unions.
Women have a great deal to gain from joining a union, with union
victories working to pave the way for workers to bargain for affordable
family healthcare, fair wages, improved working conditions, and a better
life for their families.
There are so many reasons women benefit so much from the union advantage:
Being in a union is good for a woman's health.
When it comes to both fiscal and physical health, being in a union is
the way to go. Unionization dramatically raises the probability of a
woman having a pension (53.4 percent) and an employer-provided health
insurance plan (36.8 percent).
Unions have been a powerful force for women's equality.
Collective bargaining cuts down on employer favoritism, which helps
women--and importantly, women of color--get a fair chance at work.
Unionized women of color, for example, earn almost 35 percent more than
nonunion women of color.
Unionization results in significantly higher wages for women of all education levels.
Being a member of a union raises women's wages by 12.9 percent compared
to their nonunion peers. That's a pay increase of $222 a week--which
adds up to $11,544 a year.
Unions protect workers' rights regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender.
In a country where it's still legal for an employer to fire someone for
being gay in 29 states, and for being transgender in 34, having a union
can make all the difference.
Unions help close the wage gap.
Despite the fact the gender wage gap overall hasn't made any progress
in the last five years, it's been shrinking among workers who belong to a
union, declining 2.6 percent between 2013 and 2012. The gender gap
between what unionized male workers make and what unionized female
workers make is just 9.4 percent, compared to 18.7 percent among
nonunion workers.
Considering the great boost to equality, pay and benefits that unions
bring, it's important that anyone who cares about the well-being of
women workers also care about unions.
So spread the word. While we can't change the world in a day, speaking out about this important issue is a good start.
And never forget why a woman's place is in her union.
In solidarity,
Mary Kay Henry
SEIU International President
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