As union membership has fallen over the last few decades, the share of income going to the top 10 percent has steadily increased. Union membership fell to 11.1 percent in 2014, where it remained in 2015 (not shown in the figure). The share of income going to the top 10 percent, meanwhile, hit 47.2 percent in 2014—only slightly lower than 47.8 percent in 2012, the highest it has been since 1917 (the earliest year data are available). When union membership was at its peak (33.4 percent in 1945) the share of income going to the top 10 percent was only 32.6 percent.

Economic Snapshot As union membership has fallen, the top 10 percent have been getting a larger share of income: Union membership and share of income going to the top 10%, 1917–2014 Year Union membership Share of income going to the top 10 percent 1917 11.0% 40.3% 1918 12.1% 39.9% 1919 14.3% 39.5% 1920 17.5% 38.1% 1921 17.6% 42.9% 1922 14.0% 42.9% 1923 11.7% 40.6% 1924 11.3% 43.3% 1925 11.0% 44.2% 1926 10.7% 44.1% 1927 10.6% 44.7% 1928 10.4% 46.1% 1929 10.1% 43.8% 1930 10.7% 43.1% 1931 11.2% 44.4% 1932 11.3% 46.3% 1933 9.5% 45.0% 1934 9.8% 45.2% 1935 10.8% 43.4% 1936 11.1% 44.8% 1937 18.6% 43.3% 1938 23.9% 43.0% 1939 24.8% 44.6% 1940 23.5% 44.4% 1941 25.4% 41.0% 1942 24.2% 35.5% 1943 30.1% 32.7% 1944 32.5% 31.5% 1945 33.4% 32.6% 1946 31.9% 34.6% 1947 31.1% 33.0% 1948 30.5% 33.7% 1949 29.6% 33.8% 1950 30.0% 33.9% 1951 32.4% 32.8% 1952 31.5% 32.1% 1953 33.2% 31.4% 1954 32.7% 32.1% 1955 32.9% 31.8% 1956 33.2% 31.8% 1957 32.0% 31.7% 1958 31.1% 32.1% 1959 31.6% 32.0% 1960 30.7% 31.7% 1961 28.7% 31.9% 1962 29.1% 32.0% 1963 28.5% 32.0% 1964 28.5% 31.6% 1965 28.6% 31.5% 1966 28.7% 32.0% 1967 28.6% 32.0% 1968 28.7% 32.0% 1969 28.3% 31.8% 1970 27.9% 31.5% 1971 27.4% 31.8% 1972 27.5% 31.6% 1973 27.1% 31.9% 1974 26.5% 32.4% 1975 25.7% 32.6% 1976 25.7% 32.4% 1977 25.2% 32.4% 1978 24.7% 32.4% 1979 25.4% 32.3% 1980 23.6% 32.9% 1981 22.3% 32.7% 1982 21.6% 33.2% 1983 21.4% 33.7% 1984 20.5% 33.9% 1985 19.0% 34.3% 1986 18.5% 34.6% 1987 17.9% 36.5% 1988 17.6% 38.6% 1989 17.2% 38.5% 1990 16.7% 38.8% 1991 16.2% 38.4% 1992 16.2% 39.8% 1993 16.2% 39.5% 1994 16.1% 39.6% 1995 15.3% 40.5% 1996 14.9% 41.2% 1997 14.7% 41.7% 1998 14.2% 42.1% 1999 13.9% 42.7% 2000 13.5% 43.1% 2001 13.5% 42.2% 2002 13.3% 42.4% 2003 12.9% 42.8% 2004 12.5% 43.6% 2005 12.5% 44.9% 2006 12.0% 45.5% 2007 12.1% 45.7% 2008 12.4% 46.0% 2009 12.3% 45.5% 2010 11.9% 46.4% 2011 11.8% 46.6% 2012 11.2% 47.8% 2013 11.2% 47.0% 2014 11.1% 47.2% ChartData Download data The data below can be saved or copied directly into Excel. The data underlying the figure. Source: Piketty and Saez (2014), Gordon (2013), and Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey public data series Data on union density follows the composite series found in Historical Statistics of the United States; updated to 2014 from unionstats.com. Income inequality (share of income to top 10%) from Piketty and Saez, “Income Inequality in the United States, 1913-1998, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(1), 2003, 1-39. Updated data for this series and other countries, is available at the Top Income Database. Updated 2016. Share on Facebook Tweet this chart Embed Copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. Download image

The single largest factor suppressing wage growth for working people and suppressing union membership over the last few decades has been the erosion of collective bargaining. This erosion has affected both union and nonunion workers alike, contributing to wage stagnation and growth in inequality. To boost wages for working people, policymakers need to intentionally tilt power back to working people by strengthening their rights to stand together and negotiate collectively for better wages and benefits, raising and improving labor standards, and achieving persistent low unemployment.