Evening Must-Read: Nick Bunker: The Steep Path Forward for Unionization

…Bruce Western… and Jake Rosenfeld… finds that about one-fifth to one-third of the increase in wage inequality can be explained by declining union membership…. Florence Jaumotte and Carolina Osorio Buitron…. Adam Ozimek… [however] makes a very important observation. How exactly will unions return to prominence?… What could make employment at unionized firms grow relatively faster compared to non-union firms?… Freeman… believe[s] that such an outcome is unlikely…. Yet… Freeman notes that increases in unionization rates in the past have come from large and sudden increases in union membership…. Increased unionization in the United States would almost certainly reduce wage and income inequality. But the pathway to a higher rate is steep. A sudden jump seems the only way up. But what will cause or even allow such an increase? That remains to be seen.