Union workers have more – and better – benefits, US says
By Michael Kuchta
Union workers continue to enjoy significantly better benefits than nonunion workers, according to a new
federal report.
A prime example of the power of collective bargaining: 93 percent of union workers have access to
health insurance, compared with only 70 percent of nonunion workers, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics’ 2010 report on employee benefits. In addition, union workers pay less out of pocket for their
insurance.
Union workers, on average, pay 11 percent of premiums for individual coverage and 18 percent of
premiums for family coverage. Nonunion workers pay a lot more: 20 percent for individual coverage and
33 percent for family coverage.
For a worker with family coverage, the difference means $950 a year in take-home pay, based on average
insurance rates. That is on top of the fact that union workers typically earn higher pay than nonunion
workers doing the same kind of job: an average of $4.95 an hour more – or $10,300 a year – according to
a different Bureau of Labor Statistics report on wages.
The BLS report on benefits shows union workers also are much more likely to have retirement benefits,
employer-paid life insurance, paid sick leave and paid personal leave. The only area where nonunion
workers have parity is paid vacation.
Market creates additional great divides in benefits
The BLS report also points out the huge gap in benefits for part-time and low-wage workers, and the
huge discrepancies in benefits available to workers at large employers compared with small employers.
Among part-time workers:
• Only 24 percent have access to health insurance, compared with 88 percent of full-time workers
• Only 39 percent have access to a retirement plan, compared with 78 percent of full-timers
• Only 28 percent have paid sick leave, compared with 79 percent of full-timers
Similarly, low-wage workers are less likely to have benefits than workers with higher salaries. Among
workers in the bottom quarter of the wage scale, only 41 percent had access to health insurance,
only 43 percent had access to a retirement plan, and only 35 percent had paid sick leave. In contrast,
among workers in the top quarter of wages, 92 percent had access to health insurance, 88 percent had a
retirement plan available at work, and 87 percent had paid sick leave.
Smaller companies, fewer benefits
Amid all the talk about the need to free up small businesses to create new jobs, the BLS report offers a
reminder that jobs at small companies may not be all that great for workers. For workers at companies
with fewer than 100 employees:
• Only 52 percent had access to a retirement plan, compared 84 percent of workers at companies
with at least 100 employees
• Only 60 percent had access to health insurance, compared 86 percent of workers at companies
with at least 100 employees
• Only 54 percent had paid sick leave, compared 78 percent of workers at companies with at least
100 employees
Public employees make a trade-off in compensation
Public-sector workers typically have better benefits than their private-sector colleagues, the BLS report
says. But better benefits are a trade-off for lower wages, according to a different study.
Raw numbers indicate that public employees overall are paid more, on average, than private-sector
workers. Enemies of the public sector have seized that generalization in their crusade to shrink, starve and
privatize government services.
The wage gap exists, in part, because public-sector jobs, on average, require more education than private-
sector jobs.
However, crunching the numbers even further shows that public employees actually are paid less than
colleagues in the private-sector who have similar education, experience and credentials. That’s according
to a joint study by two groups: the Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the National
Institute on Retirement Security.
When it comes to pay, employees who work for state governments earn an average of 11 percent less than
private-sector counterparts with similar backgrounds, the report says. Local government employees earn
an average of 10 percent less. That analysis is based on wage data compiled by the federal BLS.
But BLS figures show that public-sector workers enjoy far better benefits:
• 88 percent have access to health insurance, compared with 71 percent of private-sector workers
• 90 percent have access to a retirement plan, compared with 65 percent in the private sector
• 89 percent have paid sick leave, compared with 62 percent in the private sector
• 60 percent have paid personal leave, compared with 37 percent in the private sector
Michael Kuchta is ILCA treasurer. In his day job, he is communications coordinator for Minnesota
AFSCME Council 5.