AFSCME’s Wage Calculator Highlights the Benefits of Union Membership

AFSCME members have long known one big advantage of joining a union: better wages.

Every year the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out a big chart comparing wages across a bunch of demographics, and that chart always shows union members make more money than people who aren’t in unions.

Why? Because negotiating together gives us power. It’s as simple as that. And now AFSCME has made it just as easy to show people exactly the difference being in a union makes. There’s a good chance the difference is bigger than you think. And, of course, wages are only part of the story.

Union members have better health benefits, better retirement plans, more paid time off and safer workplaces. Union members in public service are more likely to have the resources we need to get our jobs done right.

But at the end of the day, union members bring home bigger paychecks than workers who don’t have the power to sit down and negotiate together. The numbers tell the story. 

So check out our union wage calculator to see the difference. And then make sure to share it with friends and family — union members and those not in unions — so that we can all do the math together.