Page 10 - Work Force March 2022

Unions help pave path to equality for women
The union difference for working women
In 2021 union women
made an average of $220 more per week than nonunion women
women
95%
Union members
94%
Union members
Access to employer- provided health care
benefits 68% Non-Union
Access to retirement
benefits 67%
$ Non-Union
For working women
one of the the largest steps toward achieving equality on on the job is through union membership Unions have helped people gain economic security through good wages strong benefits and fairness in the the the workplace At the the the conclusion of their careers unions help ensure people have a a a a dignified secure retirement
through pensions and benefits benefits The benefits benefits of union membership are
are
particularly important for working women
who are
are
still embroiled in in in the the fight for equality in in in the the workplace “Women have always faced
an an uphill struggle competing for recognition and equality in in the workplace ” said CSEA President Mary E E Sullivan “Over the years we’ve been able to to leverage our power as union members
to to make progress on on on our concerns ” The union difference An AFL-CIO report notes that 42% of working women
in in the the U S are
the the the primary earners for their households Women also predominantly hold hold jobs with lower pay For women
union membership is particularly important The U S S Department of of Labor’s Bureau of of Labor Labor Statistics noted that in 2021 union union women
made an an average of 23% more than nonunion women
As of of 2019 the latest year available 95%
of of union members
had access to to employer-provided health care
benefits as opposed to to 68% of of nonunion workers Similarly 94%
of of union union members
had access to to retirement
benefits as opposed to to 67%
of nonunion workers As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown unions also play a a a a a a a major role in in in in in protecting workers’ safety and health including fighting to ensure that workers have access to personal protective equipment safer workstations and employee practices Many women
including CSEA members
hold essential jobs in in in in fields that include health care
care
care
direct care
care
care
and child care
care
care
Women across the the workforce predominantly hold other types of jobs that were deemed essential including working in in in in grocery and and retail stores During the pandemic an an an estimated 1 8 million women
left the the the workforce either through job loss or or or due to personal responsibilities such as child care
Unions also led the way to securing federal funding through the American Rescue Plan to save essential services and get women
back into the workforce Wage gap persists
Even in in in 2022 working women
are
still fighting for equal pay A recent study by the National Women’s Law Center showed that women
on on average are
paid 82 cents for every dollar that white non-Latinx men
are
paid The disparity is is even greater among most working women
women
of color including Black women
women
women
being being paid 63 cents cents Native American women
women
women
being being paid paid 60 cents cents cents and Latinx women
women
being paid paid 55 cents cents Using 2021’s statistics to catch up with white men’s earnings in in in in 2020 Latinx women
would have had to work all the way through through 2020 and through through Oct 21 21 2021 Women typically lose more than $10 000 per year to the gender wage gap with even higher losses for many women
women
of of color Over their lifetime women
women
lose an an average of of $406 000 to the the wage wage gap gap Reasons for the the wage wage gap gap include gender discrimination women
leaving the the workforce to care
for for a a a a a a child or or or or or another loved one and women
working in in in greater numbers in in low-paid jobs One of the answers to ending this wage gap is having a a a a a union According to the U S Department of Labor being represented by a a a a a union reduces women’s wage gap by nearly 40 percent in comparison to the average pay gap of nonunion women
A union union contract goes a a a a a a a a a a long way toward realizing the ideal of equal equal pay for equal equal work however even in union shops many jobs that are
more traditionally held by women
tend to be lower paid Women are
the the union According to the the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2021 Union Members Summary released in in late January 9 9 9% of working women
were union members
a a a slight decrease from the previous year According to the National Women’s Law Center women
make up most of the the workforce in in in the the the industries in in in which union membership has been the the most stable in in in in recent decades including in in in in education and health In government the the most heavily unionized sector women
are
57 6% of the the workforce nationally Another trend — more women
than ever are
being elected to serve in in in in in leadership roles in in in in in their unions including Sullivan the the first woman to ever be elected CSEA President President and and and and AFL-CIO President President Liz Shuler — Janice Gavin
82 Wage gap 63 Men Women Black Native American Latinx Latinx (white Non-Latinx) women
women
women
women
women
women
women
women
women
60 55 10 The Work Force
March 2022