Washington, D.C. — Working-class young men who belong to unions are significantly more likely to achieve major life goals such as getting married, having children, and owning a home, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress.
Analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data from 2021 through 2025, CAP found that full-time working men under age 35 without a bachelor’s degree who are union members are 9 percentage points more likely to be married, 6.3 percentage points more likely to have children, and 10.1 percentage points more likely to own a home than their nonunion peers.
“Young men want the financial security to build a life, support a family, and own a home, and unions can help make those goals more attainable,” said Aurelia Glass, policy analyst for the American Worker Project at CAP and author of the analysis. “Union jobs provide young men, especially working-class young men, with higher wages, better benefits, and a stronger voice at work. Many young men feel like financial stability is slipping further and further out of reach. Strengthening workers’ freedom to organize can give more of them a real pathway to get ahead, and it’s something young men support.”
Among the analysis’ key findings:
- Working-class union men are more likely to get married. Among young men without college degrees, 34.5 percent of union members are married compared with 25.5 percent of nonunion workers, a gap of 9 percentage points. Nearly 35 percent of union men under age 35 across education levels are married, compared with 28.8 percent of nonunion men.
- Working-class union men are more likely to have children. Among young men without a bachelor’s degree, 31.5 percent of union members have at least one of their own children living in their household compared to 25.2 percent for nonunion men, a difference of 6.3 percentage points. Twenty-eight percent of young union men across education levels have their own children living in their household, compared with 22.4 percent of nonunion men.
- Working-class union men are more likely to own a home. Among young men without college degrees, union members are 10.1 percentage points more likely to be homeowners: 61.5 percent of male union members under age 35 without a bachelor’s degree own their own home, compared with 51.3 percent of nonunion young men. Nearly 60 percent of union men across education levels under age 35 own their homes, compared with 51 percent of nonunion men.
- Unions provide a significant economic boost for young men. Previous research found a 17.6 percent union wage premium for men under age 35, and young union members are also substantially more likely to receive employer-provided health insurance and retirement benefits.
- Young men want greater access to unions. According to recent polling, 55 percent of men under age 30 say they would support unionizing their workplace, and 64 percent of young men in union households describe themselves as financially stable, compared with 46 percent of those outside union households. CAP polling finds that among voters, 63 percent of men under age 35 support making it easier to unionize. Yet just 6 percent of private sector workers currently belong to unions.
- Financial stability remains out of reach for many young men. Recent surveys found that just 45 percent of men under age 30 say they feel “financially stable,” and although 63 percent say “[h]aving children is important to [them],” only 57 percent believe they “will be able to afford to raise children in the near future.”
Read the analysis: “How Unions Help Young Working-Class Men Buy Homes and Start Families” by Aurelia Glass
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Christian Unkenholz at [email protected].