What about other union benefits. The AFL-CIO reports 88 percent of workers in unions participate in pension plans versus 49 percent of nonunion workers. Seventy-seven percent of union workers have guaranteed pensions, compared with 17 percent of nonunion workers. Roughly 84 percent of workers in unions have paid sick leave compared with 62 percent of nonunion workers.
Stop and imagine what life would be like for most Americans if all workers belonged to labor unions, and then answer this: Who benefits when workers are earning $200 less a month—the workers, bosses or billionaires?
Let me help you with the answer: There are 536 billionaires (0.00016% of the population) in America; 9.63 million (3%) with a net worth of $1 million or more leaving more than 138 million (almost 44% of the population) working Americans with a net worth that’s less than $1 million who rely on that weekly or monthly pay check. Note: About 23% of the population is children and 14.5% are over the age of 65.
Let’s put that another way: There are almost 123 million households in the United States. In 2010, the poverty threshold was $22,314 for a family of four.
In addition, Mother Jones.com reported that the top 0.01% (12,300) families in the United States earn almost $25 million each on average annually compared to $29,840 for the bottom 90% (110.7 million families).
In conclusion, the evidence strongly suggests that there are NOT enough union workers in the United States to be a factor that would lead to higher unemployment rates or real estate values just because they get paid a few hundred more a month on average—no matter what the millionaires or billionaire oligarchs claim through their puppets, politicians and propaganda. Don’t forget, union workers earn more and have better benefits, because they have someone fighting for them—evidence that unions are doing their job.
Food for thought: In 1900, before there were strong labor unions and the Robber Barons ruled over most of America with corporate monopolies, 40% of Americans lived in poverty. And what about countries that have high labor union membership—for instance, three countries with the highest labor union membership in the world: Sweden and Denmark with 95% union membership and Finland with 85% membership. What do these countries have in common?
The answer: Sweden, Denmark and Finland all made the world’s 10 happiest countries list (the U.S. isn’t on this list) , according to this year’s World Happiness Report, that looks at earnings, living standards, employment, mental health and family stability. The report surveyed 158 countries
In this post, we are going to examine the top ten in each category—highest versus lowest rates of poverty. Each state gets three points. One point for each governor’s party and one point for the majority of the state senate and one point for the majority of the state house or general assembly. When I stared to research this topic, I had no idea what the results would be.
Top Ten States with the HIGHEST rates of poverty
#1 Mississippi 20.1% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state and only 5.3% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#2 Louisiana 18.3% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state and only 4.6% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#3 New Mexico 17.9% – GOP governor and State House (the State Senate majority is Democratic), and only 7.2% of the work force belongs to a labor union.
#4 Alabama 15.9% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state and only 9.8% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#5 Texas 16.2% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state and only 4.5% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#6 Arkansas 15.9% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state and only 5.9% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#7 Oklahoma 15.6% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state and only 6.6% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#8 West Virginia 15.4% – Democratic governor but GOP State Legislature and only 13.8% of the work force belongs to a labor union.
#9 Arizona 15.2% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state and only 8.8% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#10. South Carolina 15% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is a Right to Work state and only 3.9% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
RESULTS: 93.3% of state governments for the TOP ten worst states for POVERTY in America are led by the Republican Party, and eight of these ten states are Right to Work states. A “right-to-work” law is a statute in the United States that prohibits union security agreements, or agreements between labor unions and employers, that govern the extent to which an established union can require employees’ membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring.
Workers in Right to Work states earn about $5,300 a year less, have less health care with higher poverty rates and work related deaths are 51% higher because unions can’t speak up about worker safety.
Top Ten States with the LOWEST rates of poverty
#1 New Hampshire 5.6% – Democratic governor and GOP majority in both houses of the state Legislature, and only 10.6% of the work force belongs to a labor union.
#2 New Jersey 6.8% – GOP governor with a Democratic majority in the both houses of the state legislature, and only 18.3% of the work force belongs to a labor union.
#3 Vermont 7.6% – Democratic governor with a Democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature, and only 10.4 % of the work force belongs to a labor union.
#4 Minnesota 8.1% – Democratic governor with a Democratic majority in the State Senate and a GOP majority in the State House, and only 16.1% of the work force belongs to a labor union.
#5 Hawaii 8.6% – Democratic governor with a Democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature, and only 24.3% of the work force belongs to a labor union.
#6 Virginia 9.1% – Democratic governor and GOP majority in both houses of the state Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state with only 4.1% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#7 Utah 9.2% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state with only 5.8% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#8 Delaware 9.2% – Democratic governor with a Democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature, and only 13.4% of the work force belongs to a labor union.
#9 Nebraska 9.5% – GOP governor and State Legislature, and it is called a Right to Work state with only 8.3% of the work force belongs to a labor union—Right to Work means anti-union.
#10 Connecticut 9.7% – Democratic governor with a Democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature, and only 16.9% of the work force belongs to a labor union.
RESULTS: 60% of the state governments for the TOP ten best states with the lowest POVERTY rates in America are led by the Democratic Party, and only three of these states are Right To Work states—this means that seven of the top ten states with the lowest poverty rates allow labor unions to negotiate for union workers.
How about the federal national debt? I’ll bet most Americans think that President Obama is responsible for that $18 Trillion debt and blame him. But if you look closely at the chart, you will quickly discover that of the last 12 presidents starting with Truman in 1945, three presidents are responsible for about half of that debt—they are Reagan and the two Bushes and these three presidents left Obama with a mess: two wars, the greatest financial recession since the Great Depression, the lowest tax rate in decades and the highest federal spending.
After reading this post, what is your conclusion about labor unions, Right-to-Work states/laws and the two major political parties when it comes to poverty and the federal national debt?
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Lloyd Lofthouse is a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Veteran,
who taught in the public schools for thirty years (1975 – 2005).
His third book is Crazy is Normal, a classroom exposé, a memoir. “Lofthouse presents us with grungy classrooms, kids who don’t want to be in school, and the consequences of growing up in a hardscrabble world. While some parents support his efforts, many sabotage them—and isolated administrators make the work of Lofthouse and his peers even more difficult.” – Bruce Reeves
Honorable Mention in Biography/Autobiography at 2014 Southern California Book Festival
Lofthouse’s first novel was the award winning historical fiction My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. His second novel was the award winning thriller Running with the Enemy. His short story A Night at the “Well of Purity” was named a finalist of the 2007 Chicago Literary Awards. His wife is Anchee Min, the international, best-selling, award winning author of Red Azalea, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year (1992).
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