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News from EPI › New Economic Policy Institute report reveals how tripling union membership would transform the U.S. economy: First-of-its-kind analysis measures how expanding union membership would boost wages, lower inequality, and benefit communities and democracy

Press Releases • July 15, 2026

A major new Economic Policy Institute report examines what the U.S. stands to gain if current union membership tripled to 30%—restoring it to 1950s levels, when union strength delivered rising wages for working people, narrowing racial wage gaps, and a thriving middle class. The report also shares a policy roadmap to boost union membership, including offering two bold new proposals that could expand the benefits of collective bargaining. 

The report estimates that tripling union membership would:  

  • Deliver a 14.5% raise for the median worker—amounting to more than $7,700 annually, or nearly $270,000 over a 35-year career. These life-changing increases would benefit union and nonunion workers alike. 
  • Shift $1.2 trillion to workers annually. This would reverse one-third of the increase in inequality experienced since 1979. 
  • Raise wages in every state. Annual wage increases would range from $1,900 to $10,600, according to the report’s state-by-state breakdowns.  
  • Significantly narrow racial wage gaps. Because unions tend to boost wages more for Black and Hispanic workers than for white workers, tripling union membership would close racial wage gaps by more than one-third. 
  • Boost the number of people with health insurance. Since unions increase other forms of compensation, like health insurance benefits, the number of nonelderly people without health insurance would fall by about 25%. 
  • Strengthen communities. States with high union density invest more in public education, have higher unemployment insurance recipiency rates, and have all adopted Medicaid expansion. 
  • Protect democracy. Unions boost voter turnout, equip workers with civic skills, and actively defend voting rights. States with high union density have passed far fewer voter restriction bills than low-density states. 

While tripling union membership is an ambitious goal, it is fully consistent with workers’ own demand for unions. Survey data show that tens of millions of workers would vote to unionize if given the opportunity. 

“Tripling union membership is not a nostalgic pipe dream. It is exactly what workers want, and federal and state policymakers have a clear roadmap to make it happen,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of EPI. “Collective bargaining is the most effective tool for workers to raise their wages and secure a fair share of economic growth. If policymakers are serious about tackling affordability problems, expanding union membership and collective bargaining should be at the center of their agenda.” 

Tripling union membership will require comprehensive policy reform that weaves together tested approaches with bold new ideas. The report unveils two new policy proposals designed to grow collective bargaining and union density—built to work alongside the federal labor law reform bills already on the table: the PRO Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act. 

  • Guaranteed annual raises for newly unionized workers. A mandatory cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) would provide a meaningful guardrail for workers whose first contract bargaining ends up in arbitration. For the typical worker, a 3% COLA means roughly $2,000 extra a year. 
  • Default collective bargaining when CEO-to-worker pay ratios exceed 100:1. Declining unionization and the stratospheric rise in CEO pay are deeply connected. Strengthening the bargaining power of workers in severely imbalanced companies would enable them to capture a larger share of the wealth their work creates. 

States should also act by repealing so-called “right-to-work” laws and ensuring collective bargaining rights for all public-sector workers, which alone would increase union density nationally from 9.9% to 14.4%. Beyond removing these barriers, states can extend collective bargaining rights to other workers currently excluded from federal law and extend unemployment insurance eligibility to workers on strike, among other reforms.  

“In an economy that has been rigged against working people for decades, unions serve as a counterweight to corporate power—reducing inequality and building the kind of middle class that underpins a strong and inclusive economy,” said Robert Reich—professor, writer, and former U.S. Secretary of Labor—in the foreword of the report. “This report shines a light on what we stand to win if we rebuild union power.” 

“Across the country, working people are hurting. Rent keeps going up, paychecks aren’t stretching as far, and everything from groceries to electric bills is too expensive. But we know—and as this new report shows—that it’s better in a union. Unions change lives for workers, their families, and their communities. They’re how we rebalance our economy, shift wealth back to working people, and provide hope for a better life. And working people aren’t waiting or putting up with the broken status quo—they’re organizing and coming together to push back against union-busting bosses and anti-union politicians. The AFL-CIO and our 65 affiliated unions will never stop fighting alongside them for the future we all deserve,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO.