{"title":"The wealth returns to a unionized career","authors":"Alec P Rhodes","doi":"10.1093/sf/soaf129","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on power resources theory and life course theories of cumulative advantage, this article examines the wealth returns to a unionized career. Using longitudinal data on the working lives of US Baby Boomers and comprehensive measures of wealth at midlife, I find that the average wealth returns to unionized careers are substantial, exceeding $130,000 for marketable wealth. The average returns to a unionized career are even larger when defined benefit pension ($378,000) and Social Security benefits ($361,000) are included in net worth. Higher cumulative lifetime earnings, enhanced job security, and greater access to employer-provided benefits partially account for the wealth returns to unionized careers. The wealth returns to unionized careers are concentrated among men, workers without a college degree, and those who worked in contexts where unions were more powerful. Results support arguments that labor market institutions bolster workers’ financial security by facilitating wealth accumulation.","PeriodicalId":48400,"journal":{"name":"Social Forces","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Social Forces","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soaf129","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SOCIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Drawing on power resources theory and life course theories of cumulative advantage, this article examines the wealth returns to a unionized career. Using longitudinal data on the working lives of US Baby Boomers and comprehensive measures of wealth at midlife, I find that the average wealth returns to unionized careers are substantial, exceeding $130,000 for marketable wealth. The average returns to a unionized career are even larger when defined benefit pension ($378,000) and Social Security benefits ($361,000) are included in net worth. Higher cumulative lifetime earnings, enhanced job security, and greater access to employer-provided benefits partially account for the wealth returns to unionized careers. The wealth returns to unionized careers are concentrated among men, workers without a college degree, and those who worked in contexts where unions were more powerful. Results support arguments that labor market institutions bolster workers’ financial security by facilitating wealth accumulation.
期刊介绍:
Established in 1922, Social Forces is recognized as a global leader among social research journals. Social Forces publishes articles of interest to a general social science audience and emphasizes cutting-edge sociological inquiry as well as explores realms the discipline shares with psychology, anthropology, political science, history, and economics. Social Forces is published by Oxford University Press in partnership with the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.