New Hampshire News
| New Report Shows Unions Help New Hampshire's Economy:Greater Unionization Could Pump $82 Million into New Hampshire's Economy |
| Posted by Jaime Contois (jcontois) on Jun 01 2009 at 8:49 PM |
CONCORD, NH - Today, labor and community leaders came together to discuss a newly released report from the Center for American Progress that shows that a modest increase in unionization rates would help restore the broken link between productivity and wage gains, pumping tens of billions of dollars into the U.S economy.
The CAP report for New Hampshire reveals:
- Granite State workers that join a union will earn 7 percent more—or $1.47 more per hour in 2008 dollars—than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts.
- If New Hampshire workers were rewarded for 100 percent of their increases in labor productivity between 1980 and 2008—as they were during the middle part of the 20th century—average wages would be $26.17 per hour—24.2 percent higher than the average real wage in 2008.
- If 5 percent more of New Hampshire workers were union members, $82 million would be pumped into the state’s economy each year.
“Working families everywhere have been hit hard by the economic crisis,” said Mark MacKenzie,
President of New Hampshire AFL-CIO. “Workers who have the freedom to form unions and bargain for fair wages and decent benefits can stand up to corporations and make sure that American families earn enough to keep the economy going.”
The New Hampshire labor and community organizations represented today are joining together in coalition to ensure passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation that would protect the rights of workers to form a union to advocate for fair wages, safe working conditions, and quality services. This coalition includes labor organizations like the New Hampshire AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, and NEA, as well as community organizations -- the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, Sierra Club, Granite State Organizing Project, and Working Families Win.
“For decades, corporate executives have given themselves raises, while the rest of us have fallen
further into debt just to make ends meet,” said Jaime Contois from Working Families Win. “Today, we’re all facing the consequences. This growing gap has hurt our families, our communities, and the economy. Congress needs to pass the Employee Free Choice Act so we can build a stronger, more sustainable economy for us all.”
The CAP Report can be viewed here:
www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/02/efca_factsheets.html
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“Change That Works,” is a new state-by-state effort by the two-million member Service Employees International Union to bring economic relief to millions across the country, help fix the nation's broken health care system and guarantee workers can freely decide whether to join with their coworkers in a union. For more information, please visit www.seiu.org/changethatworks/.