Drop in union membership has taken $14 to $52 out of nonunion workers’ weekly wages: Additional weekly wages that nonunion private-sector workers 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 | 4.55 | 1.81 |
| 1981 | 7.34 | 2.50 |
| 1983 | 16.93 | 4.77 |
| 1984 | 22.11 | 6.18 |
| 1985 | 25.90 | 7.39 |
| 1986 | 28.29 | 8.14 |
| 1987 | 29.63 | 8.60 |
| 1988 | 31.24 | 9.19 |
| 1989 | 32.36 | 9.76 |
| 1990 | 33.57 | 10.07 |
| 1991 | 33.57 | 10.27 |
| 1992 | 33.58 | 10.57 |
| 1993 | 34.83 | 10.89 |
| 1995 | 38.96 | 11.74 |
| 1996 | 38.38 | 11.62 |
| 1997 | 40.31 | 12.33 |
| 1998 | 42.69 | 12.74 |
| 1999 | 43.50 | 12.84 |
| 2000 | 45.00 | 13.41 |
| 2001 | 46.29 | 13.48 |
| 2002 | 48.02 | 13.76 |
| 2003 | 49.62 | 13.91 |
| 2004 | 49.55 | 13.63 |
| 2005 | 50.49 | 13.89 |
| 2006 | 51.14 | 13.86 |
| 2007 | 51.98 | 14.09 |
| 2008 | 50.01 | 13.48 |
| 2009 | 50.07 | 12.87 |
| 2010 | 49.09 | 12.63 |
| 2011 | 50.08 | 13.48 |
| 2012 | 52.48 | 13.80 |
| 2013 | $52.39 | $13.80 |
Notes: Sample restricted to nonunion full-time workers in the private sector ages 16 to 64.
Source: Adapted from Figure C in Jake Rosenfeld, Patrick Denice, and Jennifer Laird, Union decline lowers wages of nonunion workers, Economic Policy Institute Report, August 30, 2016