Union members earn 26% more than non-members per week. Here’s why.

You may often read or hear that union members earn more than non-members.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that a union member will earn more than their coworker who is not a member, in the same job under the same employer. Nor does it mean that as soon as you join your union, your pay automatically goes up.

It means that generally union members tend to have higher wages than non-members. And highly-unionised workplaces or industries (ie. workplaces or industries where lots of the workers are union members) generally have higher rates of pay, than non-unionised workplaces or industries.

The evidence for this comes from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which shows that union members have median weekly earnings that are 26% higher than the earnings of non-members.

These statistics were current as of August 2022, and the updated release of numbers from the ABS will be in December 2024.

Union wage premium for women

Female union members earn $346 more per week than female non-members. Additionally, the gender pay gap is lower for union members: the median male non-member earns $3.60 more per hour than his female equivalent, but for union members, this difference is only $1.20.

Union wage premium for casual workers

The median union member in casual employment earns $10.43 more per hour than the median casual non-member.

That difference means you could pay off your weekly union membership fee in your first 1 or 2 hours of work for the week!

Union wage premium for young workers

Union members aged under 25 earn significantly more than their peers who are not members. Union members aged 15 to 24 earn $370.90 more per week than non-members of the same age, and earn $6.76 per hour more than non-members of the same age.

What’s more, workers in their union continue to earn more throughout their career. Even union members who’ve been members for less than a year earn $109.80 more per week than non-members.  

Workers who’ve been members for one year and over earn $129.50 more than non-members, and by the time a worker has been a member for three to four years, they’re earning $198 more per week than non-members.  

All this means that the longer you are a member, the more you benefit from individual and collective advantages. In other words, joining your union in your first job pays off immediately and also throughout your working life.

Union pay advantage by industry

The evidence from the ABS shows that industries with a higher proportion of workers who are union members have higher median earnings.

Some of the industries with the highest proportion of union members have the largest pay advantages: 

• 30% of workers in Education and Training are members, the highest of any industry, and the median member earns $11.04 per hour more than the median non-member.
• More workers work in Health Care and Social Assistance than any other industry, and 20% of these are members. The median member in that industry earns $9.60 per hour more than the median non-member.

Why do union members earn more?

The data from the ABS clearly shows that union membership equals higher pay, no matter which way you cut it. This is due to a combination of union benefits for members.

Being in a union protects your pay

Union members protect their pay with the support of their union in lots of ways; reclaiming wage theft and re-classification are two examples:

Wage-theft

While unions fight for decent wages and working conditions for all workers, assistance on recovering stolen wages is an example of the kind of support that primarily benefits workers who join as members.

For example, a 2021 ACTU study into wage theft (such as unpaid overtime, withheld entitlements, or being paid under the legal minimum wage including penalty rates) found that 80% of workers who sought assistance from their union were able to recover the full amount owed to them. This was higher than for those who sought help from the Fair Work Ombudsman (49%).

Reclassifications

A classification determines how much an employee is paid according to skill level or qualifications. Each classification has specific requirements and is allocated a specific minimum wage. Some employers under-classify – and therefore under-pay – workers (whether deliberately or not).

Unions can help to assist members who have been under-classified to apply for reclassification and be paid more.

Union membership = collective bargaining power

Collective bargaining is where workers come together to negotiate better pay and conditions directly with their employer.

Collective bargaining is usually formalised in the form of an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (sometimes called Enterprise Agreement or Collective Bargaining Agreement). These agreements must be registered and approved by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) before they come into effect, and they remain in place until they expire or are terminated.

Collective bargaining ensures workers get a fair share of the pie, and they can be negotiated with, or without, the involvement of a union. But evidence shows (see the graph below) that Agreements which do have a union behind them, consistently deliver higher wages, than those without a union involved.

But if all workers benefit from agreements, why is the union member pay advantage so large?

Unions’ bargaining power comes from the members. The more members in a union, the the stronger the union. Every member makes the workers’ collective voice stronger, louder and harder to ignore or reject. Every member makes the case for improved pay and conditions more compelling, authentic, and united.

Non-members might still get some benefit from the work of unions and their members, but the data shows that this benefit would be larger if they too joined the cause.

Union-back agreements deliver higher wages

Since July 2022, The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has published statistical reports each fortnight, providing data on Enterprise Agreements which have been lodged and approved by the FWC in that time.

This data consistently shows that union-backed EBAs (that is, EBAs which have been negotiated by union members) consistently deliver higher wages than non-union EBAs.

The evidence is clear: whichever way you look at it, the key to higher wages is union membership. That’s why there has never been a better time to join your union.