Drop in union membership has taken $13 to $61 out of the weekly wages of nonunion workers with at most a high school education: Additional weekly wages that nonunion private-sector workers with a high school diploma or less would earn had the share of workers in a union (union density) remained the same as in 1979, 1979–2013 (2013 dollars)
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1980 | 4.74 | 2.08 |
| 1981 | 8.16 | 2.77 |
| 1983 | 19.05 | 5.18 |
| 1984 | 25.63 | 6.44 |
| 1985 | 29.95 | 7.59 |
| 1986 | 32.16 | 8.30 |
| 1987 | 33.98 | 8.92 |
| 1988 | 35.90 | 9.30 |
| 1989 | 37.17 | 9.74 |
| 1990 | 38.51 | 10.03 |
| 1991 | 38.60 | 10.23 |
| 1992 | 38.92 | 10.49 |
| 1993 | 40.46 | 10.94 |
| 1995 | 46.30 | 11.93 |
| 1996 | 44.21 | 11.56 |
| 1997 | 47.08 | 12.12 |
| 1998 | 50.00 | 12.62 |
| 1999 | 49.56 | 12.88 |
| 2000 | 50.40 | 13.02 |
| 2001 | 52.28 | 13.07 |
| 2002 | 54.61 | 13.58 |
| 2003 | 56.22 | 13.57 |
| 2004 | 56.26 | 13.32 |
| 2005 | 58.06 | 13.32 |
| 2006 | 59.44 | 13.43 |
| 2007 | 60.73 | 13.91 |
| 2008 | 58.42 | 13.06 |
| 2009 | 57.47 | 12.85 |
| 2010 | 56.85 | 12.54 |
| 2011 | 57.85 | 13.02 |
| 2012 | 60.60 | 13.43 |
| 2013 | $61.05 | $13.39 |
Notes: Sample restricted to nonunion full-time workers in the private sector ages 16 to 64. See the text and Methodological Appendix for details on the analysis.
Source: Authors’ compilations from the Current Population Survey (CPS) May Supplement microdata and CPS Outgoing Rotation Group microdata.