Unions and the Labor Market Status of White and Minority Youth

Abstract

This paper presents data showing that unions have a very substantial effect on the wages of young union workers, particularly young blacks, but that they also have a negative effect on the wages of young blacks who are not unionized. The effects of unions on employment are negative for both groups and especially for blacks. In addition, the data indicate that young blacks within the labor force have union membership rates that are roughly comparable to those of young whites, but rates for young blacks are lower after accounting for differences in the rate of labor-force participation of young blacks and whites. Young blacks also continue to be underrepresented in strongly unionized crafts and in the construction industry, while being overrepresented in the weakly organized and low-wage service sector. These results suggest the need to improve further the access of blacks to unionized employment.