COMP NEWS – A new study shows that unionized healthcare workers consistently receive better pay and benefits, despite union membership remaining low.

Boston, MA – Unionized health care workers earned better pay and received better non-cash benefits, with little difference in their work hours when compared to non-unionized workers, according to a new study, “Trends in Labor Unionization Among US Health Care Workers, 2009-2021”, published on December 27, 2022 in JAMA.

“This study is the first to systemically investigate the landscape of labor unionization among the US health care workforce and its associated economic effects,” said senior author Xiaojuan Li, PhD, Instructor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. 

Labor unionization efforts have resurged in the US, and union membership has been shown to improve worker conditions in some industries.

While labor unionization has remained fairly low over the last decade, it correlates with better pay and benefits for healthcare workers.

Study researchers found that labor unionization rates were low, at an overall prevalence of 13.2%, with no significant change from 2009 through 2021. Labor unionization was associated with better pay and better benefits for health care workers. Unionized workers reported earning $123 more per week than nonunionized workers, receiving better health insurance from their employer (both in terms of employer’s contribution and the kind of insurance plan), and higher chance of having a pension or other retirement benefits at work. However, compared with nonunionized, unionized workers reported slightly more weekly work hours.

“The associated benefits of unionization are striking but not surprising,” said Ahmed Ahmed, fourth-year medical student at Harvard Medical School and first author of the study. “Unions collectively bargain for their members, which appears to improve both employee compensation and pay gaps between workers.”

To read more about the study on unionization within healthcare, click here.

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