Frank Manzo IV, MPP

Policy Director

Director and Professor

Labor Education Program
School of Labor and Employment Relations University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign www.illinoislabored.org (312) 996-2624

Robert Bruno, PhD

Illinois Economic Policy Institute

A Higher Road for a Better Tomorrow www.illinoisepi.org (708) 375-1002

UNION AND NONUNION HOUSEHOLDS:

General Social Survey, 2000-2012
REPORT SUMMARY Union households are different from nonunion households. Compared to individuals in nonunion households, American residents in union households are: Older, more African-American, less Latino or Latina, and more likely to be married; More likely to have an advanced (masters, professional, or doctorate) degree; Disproportionately located in states in the Northeast, Midwest, and Pacific; More likely to have a job, work more weeks and hours, earn more money per year, work in the public sector, and identify as working class; More Catholic, less nonreligious, and more likely to attend church; More likely to affiliate with the Democratic Party and be stronger Democrats; and Happier, more likely to think some luck or help from others contributes to individual success, and have more confidence in science, organized religion, and organized labor but less confidence in Congress. The good news for unions is that eight-in-ten union households and seven-in-ten nonunion households have confidence in organized labor. On the other hand, in addition to the continuing decline in the union membership rate, trends in U.S. demographics may be problematic for organized labor. As the country is becoming more Latino/a, more educated, and less religious, demographic groups that have been key members of the labor movement are gradually declining. If organized labor is to reverse the historic drop in union membership, it may have to do a better job of reaching out to, connecting with, and organizing residents who belong to these groups.
All data are from the General Social Survey (GSS) Cumulative Datafile 1972-2012. Except for the U.S. Census, the GSS is regarded as the best source of data on societal trends. From 2000 to 2012, the GSS surveyed 18,878 American residents, including 1,840 individuals from union households and 11,248 from nonunion households.
For more, the full report is available online at: www.illinoisepi.org/policy-briefs-countryside.

ILEPI Economic Commentary #5

Union and Nonunion Households: General Social Survey, 2000-2012

Core Demographic Age Male Female White non-Latino African-American Latino or Latina Married In a Union Household 47.10 49.01% 50.99% 71.28% 14.31% 10.39% 71.06% Not In a Union Household 45.32 45.43% 54.57% 70.96% 12.70% 12.03% 52.83% Difference 1.78 3.58% -3.58% 0.31% 1.61% -1.64% 18.23%

Educational Attainment
High School Degree Bachelor's Degree Advanced Degree
16.4% 17.1% 12.5% 8.3% 53.8% 50.5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Census Geographic Region

Pacific Mountain West South Central East South Central South Atlantic West North Central East North Central Mid Atlantic New England 0%
4.1% 5.3% 12.5% 22.3% 6.3% 6.4% 16.3% 20.1% 7.4% 4.3% 11.4% 5.3% 6.2% 3.7% 21.9% 12.8% 13.9% 19.9%

In a Union Household

Not in a Union Household

Class Identification
100%
1.4% 39.2% 3.3% 39.6%

Upper Class Middle Class Working Class

50%
45.0% 2.4% 12.1% 38.7%

Lower Class
6.4% 12.0%

0%
Work or Income Characteristic Employment rate

Other or None
Difference 9.84% 1.49 5.43% -3.94% $4,153 $20,689

In a Union Household

Not in a Union Household

In a Union Household 71.38% 47.61 84.49% 14.48% $46,721 $80,571

Not In a Union Household 61.55% 46.13 79.06% 18.41% $42,569 $59,882

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Not in a Union Household

Religious Identification Protestant
Fundamentalist Moderate Liberal

In a Union Household
Not In a Union Household 50.44%
27.72% 10.87% 11.02%

Weeks worked last year Full-time Part-time Employed income (2012 $) Household income (2012 $)

In a Union Household 46.53%

23.28% 12.43% 10.19%

Difference -3.91%
-4.44% 1.56% -0.83%

Political Affiliation
100%
9.3% 13.6% 7.6% 16.5% 11.7% 19.5% 19.6% 11.3% 15.4% 8.4% 20.2% 11.4% 16.6% 14.4%

Strong GOP Weak GOP Lean GOP Independent Lean Dem Weak Dem Strong Dem

Catholic Jewish Other religions No religion

32.83% 1.65% 5.21% 13.79%

24.15% 1.99% 7.39% 16.03%

8.68% -0.34% -2.18% -2.24%

50%

Institutional Confidence
0% Scientific community Organized labor Organized religion U.S. Congress 0% In a Union Household 50%
94.9% 92.7% 78.9% 70.1% 78.1% 76.9% 62.9% 65.3%

In a Union Household

Not in a Union Household

National Demographic Trends, 2000-2012

Characteristic White non-Latino Latino or Latina High School Bachelors No Religion Protestant Catholic 2000-02 74.82% 8.13% 54.04% 15.32% 13.93% 52.38% 25.31% 2010-12 66.78% 13.79% 49.50% 17.87% 18.78% 45.37% 24.58% Trend -8.04% 5.66% -4.54% 2.55% 4.85% -7.01% -0.73%

100%

Not in a Union Household

GSS: Total N= 18,878. 2000-2002 N= 5,560; 2010-2012 N= 4,010.