The Effect of Unions on Wages

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Since the 18th century, unions have been established to protect workers’ rights and to further their common goals and interests. Some of the most influential trade unions in the U.S. were the AFL (American Federation Labor) and the CIO (Congress of Industrial Organization). Overall, they have successfully negotiated an increase in wages for their workers as well as enhancing workplace safety. In the past, unions have effectively raised worker’s wages by threatening to limit the supply of labor, thus increasing bargaining power for improved terms and conditions for employees. 

Back in 1886, the AFL labor movement promoted the idea of a “living wage” which would enable all workers, including those who are not part of a union, to support a family, and above all else, maintain an “American standard of living”; this idea came true during the 1930s.  Both unemployed and union workers supported the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act which established the first national minimum wage and guaranteed a pay rate of 25 cents an hour. Since this act has passed, various labor movements have been pushing state and federal governments to collectively raise the minimum wage as high as possible. 

Today, the infamous Fight for Fifteen organization has banded various communities and unions together in order to turn the  “minimum wage” into a living wage for the American population. What started as a 200-person protest has now turned into a national labor movement. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is financially backing the movement and has helped to organize a “group of workers who are on the fringe of the economy”. As a result of the efforts of hundreds of thousands of workers, the hard work that had been put in started to show as minimum wages across cities and states across the country increased. 29 states have set the minimum wage at a level higher than the federal minimum wage of 7.25/hour. In 2019, a bill named Raise the Wage Act of 2019 was proposed. It offered a prospect to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024.

 Over the course of hundreds of years, the overall collective efforts of unions have benefitted the common American populace. Because labor unions had taken action in the past, we have seen positive changes reshape our mindset, not only through movements, but also in the government.