Feb. 4, 2010
A new paper points up that labor unions benefit workers in every state, regardless of union density or the general attitude toward unions, the AFL-CIO reports. The added benefit applies to wages, health care benefits and retirement:

Joining a union would be good for workers in every state in the nation because union members receive better pay and benefits than nonunion workers, according to a new report.

“The Unions of the States,” released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), studied union membership rates, size of the union workforce and wage and benefit advantages for union workers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Click http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/the-unions-of-the-states/
to read the report.

The report found union membership rates vary widely, from more than 25 percent of workers in New York and Hawaii to fewer than 5 percent in North Carolina and South Carolina. California has the most union members, with 2.6 million, and Wyoming the least, with just about 20,000.

But no matter what the size of the union workforce, the union difference is clear in every state. The report says that in a typical state, union members are likely to earn 15 percent more an hour, have a 19 percent (higher) likelihood of having employer-provided health insurance and are 24 percent more likely to have an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Based on the federal government’s monthly Current Population Survey, the report provides a snapshot of union members in each state by race, gender, public-sector or private-sector employment and more.

The report clearly makes the point that protecting workers’ right to join a union—the reason for the Employee Free Choice Act—is important and would benefit the country:
"These findings demonstrate that, across the states, workers who are able to bargain collectively earn more and are more likely to have benefits associated with good jobs. Taken together these data strongly suggest that better protection of workers’ right to unionize would have a substantial positive impact on the pay and benefits workers in every state."

We will ALL miss Brother Brown more than we could ever express in words but these words should help to comfort everyone:
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Psalm 23:1-6

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