Unions, Race, Ethnicity, and Wealth: Is There a Union Wealth Premium for People of Color?

Black, Latinx, Native American, and many Asian households often have less wealth than White ones do. This racial wealth gap may be smaller among union members than nonunion members if union membership positively correlates with more wealth and if that correlation is greater among people of color than among White households. We use summary statistics and regression analyses based on the Federal Reserve’s triennial Survey of Consumer Finances from 1989 to 2019 for our analyses. We find that households of all races and ethnicities have more wealth as union members than as nonunion members. This increase is larger for Black households and households of other races than it is for Whites.