5/26//2005 The already
substantial union advantage for employee benefits has
increased in recent years, according to new survey data.
Unions have been able to preserve the most important
benefits for their members, while nonunion workers have
not been able to withstand the huge employer push to cut
coverage and shift costs on to employees. Union workers
are far more likely to be covered by health care and
retirement benefits than nonunion workers and far less
likely to be forced to contribute to the cost of those
plans.
The new data are now available from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics' November 9 release of
the results of its March 2004 survey of employee
benefits in the private sector, the largest survey of
its kind. The survey covers 4,703 establishments
representing 102.3 million workers. Findings from the
survey include the following:
! Almost all union workers - 89
percent - have access to employer-provided medical
benefits, compared with 67 percent of nonunion workers.
Seventy-three percent of union workers have dental care
coverage, compared with 43 percent of nonunion workers.
For vision care, 56 percent of union workers receive
benefits; only 26 percent of nonunion workers are
covered.
! The advantages of union membership
also show in whether or not employees must pay for part
of their health care benefits. For single coverage, the
employer pays all costs for 43 percent of union workers,
but only 21 percent of nonunion workers receive
employer-paid coverage.
! For family coverage, 33 percent of all union
workers are not required to contribute, but only 7
percent of nonunion workers receive coverage that is
fully paid by the employer.
! When union members are required to
contribute toward their health care coverage, they pay
far less than nonunion workers. The average flat
contribution for single coverage for union members is
$56.53 a month, or $678.36 per year, compared with
$68.98 per month, or $827.76 per year for nonunion
workers.
! For family coverage, union members
contribute an average of $195.12 a month, or $2,341.44 a
year, compared with $273.51 a month, or $3,282.12 per
year, for nonunion workers.
! Nonunion workers face much higher
costs for medical coverage than they did only a few
years ago. The average annual nonunion employee
contribution for family coverage is $1,052.64 more today
than it was in 2000.
! Overall, employers pay 83 percent
of the cost of health care benefits for family coverage
for union workers, but only 67 percent of the costs for
nonunion workers.● Fifty-nine percent of workers have
access to retirement benefits, with 50 percent
participating in at least one type of retirement plan.
The vast majority of these workers are covered only by a
defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), and the
data do not reveal the size of the retirement accounts
for these workers.
● Only 21 percent of all workers are covered by defined
benefit retirement plans, which are primarily
traditional employer-funded pension plans with a
predetermined retirement benefit paid out for life after
retirement. Only 10 percent of all private sector
establishments still offer these plans. This benefit is
now really a union benefit, with 70 percent of all union
workers covered by a defined benefit plan, compared with
only 16 percent of nonunion workers.
● Fifty-three percent of all workers are covered by
defined contribution retirement plans, which are largely
funded by the workers themselves. Among union workers,
48 percent are covered by these plans, which are often
offered in addition to pension plans at union
workplaces.
● The union advantage extends well beyond health and
retirement benefits. Union workers are more likely to
receive employer-provided life insurance and twice as
likely to have short-term disability coverage.
● Union workers are also more likely to receive paid
time-off benefits and greater amounts of paid time-off.
For example, union workers with 20 years of service
receive an average of 22.3 paid vacation days, compared
with 18.1 days for nonunion workers.
Unions have also been able to maintain larger wage
increases for their members, with annual wage cost
increases averaging 3.0 percent for union workers and
2.5 percent for nonunion workers from September 2003 to
September 2004. Largely because of the rising cost of
benefits, total compensation costs for union workers
rose 5.8 percent, compared with 3.4 percent for nonunion
workers. This growing differential in union and nonunion
costs will fuel greater employer opposition to
organizing drives going forward.
