
Unions Build Wealth for the American Working Class
Union membership not only increases wealth for working-class families but also narrows racial wealth gaps and offers a path to the middle class.
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Julia Aurelia Glass is a research associate for the Inclusive Economy team at American Progress with a focus on the American Worker Project. Glass formerly worked as a mechanical engineer before her experiences as a trans woman inspired her to transition into public policy and pursue a master’s in international economics and finance at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, where she completed a capstone project predicting improved corporate performance through LGBTQ-friendly human resource policies. She studied engineering mechanics and economics at Johns Hopkins University.
Union membership not only increases wealth for working-class families but also narrows racial wealth gaps and offers a path to the middle class.
The working class works primarily in service-sector jobs and is more racially and ethnically diverse than ever.
Raising pay and benefits for workers in federally supported airports will stabilize the air industry.
From minor league baseball to Microsoft, businesses in a range of industries are respecting their workers' right to come together in unions.
Under the Biden administration, the National Labor Relations Board is striving to protect workers' right to form a union and collectively bargain, but the agency remains underfunded and understaffed.
The Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are key pillars of a transformative industrial policy platform.
Unions have narrowed class and ideological divides to make Generation Z America's most pro-union generation.
By instituting prevailing wage policies, policymakers can ensure that the jobs they subsidize in one of America's newest industries offer fair wages and benefits.
American workers have won major victories at Amazon, Starbucks, and elsewhere; but Congress must act to ensure all workers can exercise their right to join a union.
New data from the Census Bureau reveal economic insecurity and labor market gaps experienced by LGBT people compared with non-LGBT populations.
For decades, the U.S. economy has left LGBTQI+ individuals and their families behind, but the Biden-Harris administration can use its existing authority to uplift LGBTQI+ workers.
Worker boards have achieved real momentum in the United States, with four states and three local governments enacting laws since 2018 that bring workers and employers together to recommend standards.