There are 300,000 Latinos in the state of New York who are affiliated with unions. This is an impressive number, but it should not be a surprise to anyone. Many New York unions count a great many Latinos among their members. Think of health services, building maintenance, hotel employees and day laborers.
Thus it is fair to ask what the unions do for Latinos.
And the answer is, according to a recent study, they do a lot.
Union membership means an increase in wages of 13 percent for New York Latinos, and it doubles the likelihood that employers will sponsor and insure retirement. Then too, 69 percent of unionized Latinos in New York have employer-sponsored medical coverage. This figure could be higher, but it is twice as high as for non-unionized Latinos.
These data come from a new study undertaken by the Center for Economic Policy Research and the Fiscal Policy Institute. The report comes to these conclusions after study of the differences between unionized and non-unionized workers with regard to age, educational level, gender and other factors that affect wages. The differences are due primarily to unionization.
That tells us clearly why a fourth of all Latino workers in New York State, the same proportion as among the rest of the work force, belong to unions.
There is no doubt that more Latinos and more workers in general wish to become affiliated with a union. Why then don't they do it?
Possibly, because our current laws make the process extremely difficult.
That is why it is so important that the Employee Free Choice Act be adopted; this is the proposed law that allows workers to decide by a simple majority vote whether or not they want a union. It would also guarantee that the decision really be free, without intimidation and coercion from the boss.
The labor movement regards this bill as a priority. It has already been approved by the House of Representatives. John McCain is against it, but Barack Obama has declared his support: “We shall approve the Employee Free Choice Act. It is not a question of whether it is approved, but when.”
It is obvious why Latinos, like other workers, join unions. It is because they gain dignity and respect, better wages and benefits. The Employee Free Choice Act, EFCA, guarantees that all workers shall have the freedom to make their own choice and the right to join a union if they so desire.
Sonia Ivany is the President of the Consejo Sindical para el Avance de Trabajadores Latinoamericanos (Union Council for the Advancement of Latin American Workers), NUC-LCLAA, and David Dyssegaard Kallick is a Fellow at the Fiscal Policy Institute.
