THE ANDERSON FILES

● “Unionization also has spillover effects that extend well beyond union workers. Competition means workers at nonunionized firms see increased wages too. Heightened workplace safety norms can pull up whole industries. Union members improve their communities through heightened civic engagement; they are more likely to vote, donate to charity and participate in a neighborhood project.”

● The report also cited research showing that “unions serve to reduce race and gender wage gaps” and can even “boost businesses’ productivity by improving working environments and by giving experienced workers more of an input into decisions that design better and more cost-effective workplace procedures.”

In 2021, the Economic Policy Institute released a report showing that “high unionization levels are associated with positive outcomes across multiple indicators of economic, personal, and democratic well-being.” The 17 U.S. states with the highest union densities have higher wages, fewer people without health insurance and more legislation protecting both sick leave and family and medical leave.

Those states are also more sup-