Study suggests that the plight of the worker has gotten worse as unions lose power.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
A recent study suggests that the plight of the worker has gotten worse as unions lose influence.
The report, conducted by the Oregon Center for Public Policy, reveals that income inequality has increased as unionization decreased.
“The decline in union representation is an important part of the story of the rise of economic inequality in Oregon,” according to the report. “Increased unionization would ease inequality and help low- and middle-income Oregonians prosper.”
As the proportion of Oregon’s unionized workforce declined from 33 to 15 percent between 1979 and 2013, the report says the share of income going to Oregon’s low- and middle-wage households (the bottom 60 percent) dropped from 25 to 20 percent.
(SOURCE: Portland Tribune)
