Catherwood LibraryILR School

A new study finds that the growing disparity in wages in the U.S. has more to do with the decrease of union political influence and membership over the last 40 years than was previously thought. The study posits that in the 1970s and 1980s, union activity helped to increase wages not just in union businesses, but in nonunion factories and shops as well, where employers kept wages competitive for ward off the threat of workers organizing. As labor's power has declined conservative lawmakers have found it easier to enact laws that not only weaken unions, but enable wage inequality in favor of employers and businesses. The findings run counter generally-held explanations for wage inequality such as the increase in immigration, inequality in access to education, and technological advances.