Women Workers and Unions

This issue brief looks at the most recent national data available to examine the impact that being in or represented by a union has on the wages and benefits of women in the paid workforce. Even after controlling for factors such as age, race, industry, educational attainment and state of residence, the data show a substantial boost in pay and benefits for female workers in unions relative to their non-union counterparts. The effect is particularly strong for women with lower levels of formal education

Who Would Pay More if the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap Were Raised or Scrapped?

On January 1, 2015, the maximum amount of annual earnings subject to the Social Security tax -- a.k.a. the payroll tax cap -- increased to $118,500. Every year, this cap is adjusted to keep up with inflation. However, many American workers are not aware that any wages above the cap are not taxed by Social Security.This issue brief analyzes Census Bureau data to determine how many workers would be affected if the Social Security payroll tax cap were raised or phased out. We find that the richest 6.1 percent of workers (less than 1 in 15) would pay more if the cap were scrapped. Only the top 1.5 percent (1 in 67) and 0.7 percent (1 in 140) would be affected if the tax were applied to earnings over$250,000 and $400,000, respectively.When we look at the wage earners according to gender, race or ethnicity, age, or state of residence, the share of workers who would be affected by increasing or phasing out the cap varies widely

Raising the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap: How Many Workers Would Pay More?

On January 1, the maximum amount of annual earnings subject to the Social Security tax -- a.k.a. the payroll tax cap -- increased to $113,700. Every year, this cap is adjusted to keep up with inflation. Many Americans are not aware that income above the cap is not taxed by Social Security. In other words, workers who make$113,700 or less per year pay a higher Social Security payroll tax rate than those who make more. To help alleviate Social Security's long-term budget shortfall, raising -- or even eliminating -- the cap has gotten some attention from policy makers. This paper finds that just 1 in 20 workers -- the wealthiest -- would be affected if the cap were eliminated entirely, and only 1 in 75 would be affected if the cap were applied to earnings over $250,000. In addition, the share of workers who would pay more varies greatly according to gender, race, state and age

Who's Above the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap?

When most workers look at their pay stubs, they can see that the Social Security payroll tax rate is 12.4 percent -- with the employee and employer each paying 6.2 percent. But many workers do not know that any annual wages above $106,800 are not taxed by Social Security. In other words, a worker who makes twice the Social Security wage cap --$213,600 per year -- pays Social Security tax on only half of his or her earnings, and one who makes just over a million dollars per year pays the tax on only about a tenth.Raising the Social Security cap -- which would make some or all earnings above $106,800 subject to the Social Security tax -- has gotten some attention as a way to help alleviate Social Security's long-term budget shortfall. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders plans to introduce legislation to keep the current cap at$106,800, but to also apply the Social Security payroll tax to earnings over $250,000. It is similar to previous bills and echoes a proposal by then-Senator Obama on the campaign trail in 2008.While this would leave those making between the current cap of$106,800 and the proposed cap of $250,000 paying the lowest rates, it would help secure the solvency of the program and avoid an increase in taxes on the middle class. To help inform this policy debate, this paper examines Census Bureau data from the most recently available American Community Survey to determine how raising the cap would affect workers based on gender, race or ethnicity, age, and state of residence

Scrapping the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap: Who Would Pay More?

There is currently $2.7 trillion in the Social Security Trust Fund, held in Treasury bonds. Since the program is currently taking in more revenues (taxes on payroll and benefits as well as interest on the bonds) than it is paying out, the Trust Fund will continue to grow to about$2.9 trillion.The Trust Fund was set up to help pre-fund the retirement of the baby boomer generation. In about 2033, these funds will be drawn down, so after that point, if no changes are made, beneficiaries would receive about 75 percent of scheduled benefits. This gap between what the program would be able to pay and scheduled benefits is equivalent to about one percent of Gross Domestic Product over the next 75 years.To help avoid a reduction in payments and alleviate the program's budget shortfall, one option is raising -- or even abolishing -- the cap on the maximum amount of earnings that are subject to the Social Security payroll tax. In 2014, that cap is set at $117,000 per year (it is adjusted annually to keep up with inflation). This issue brief analyzes Census Bureau data from the most recently available American Community Survey to ascertain how many workers would be affected if the Social Security payroll tax cap were raised or phased out

Who's (Still) Above the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap?

The Social Security payroll tax cap is the earnings level above which no further Social Security taxes are collected. The cap is currently at $110,100, though legislation has been introduced in Congress to apply the Social Security payroll tax to earnings above$250,000 (but not between the current cap and this level). This issue brief updates earlier work, finding that 5.8 percent of workers would be affected if the Social Security cap were eliminated entirely and 1.4 percent would be affected if the current tax were applied to earnings over $250,000. It breaks down these numbers further by gender, race or ethnicity, age, and state of residence

Unions and Upward Mobility for Asian American and Pacific Islander Workers

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are, with Latinos, the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. workforce. In 2009, Asian American and Pacific Islanders were one of every 20 U.S. workers, up from one in 40 only 20 years earlier. AAPIs, again with Latinos, are also the fastest growing ethnic group in organized labor, accounting for just under one-in-20 unionized workers in 2009. Even after controlling for workers' characteristics including age, education level, industry, and state, unionized AAPI workers earn about 14.3 percent more than non-unionized AAPI workers with similar characteristics. This translates to about $2.50 per hour more for unionized AAPI workers. Unionized AAPI workers are also about 16 percentage points more likely to have health insurance and about 22 percentage points more likely to have a retirement plan than their non-union counterparts. The advantages of unionization are greatest for AAPI workers in the 15 lowest-paying occupations. Unionized AAPI workers in these low-wage occupations earn about 20.1 percent more than AAPI workers with identical characteristics in the same generally low-wage occupations. Unionized AAPI workers in low-wage occupations are also about 23.2 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and 26.3 percentage points more likely to have a retirement plan through their job

Unions and Upward Mobility for Asian Pacific American Workers

Asian Pacific American (APA) workers are, with Latinos, the fastest growing group in the U.S. workforce and in organized labor. Since the late 1980s, APA workers have seen their representation in the ranks of U.S. unions almost double, from about 2.5 percent of all union workers in 1989 to about 4.6 percent in 2008.This report uses national data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to show that unionization raises the wages of the typical APA worker by 9 percent compared to their non-union peers. The study goes on to show that unionization also increases the likelihood that an APA worker will have health insurance and a pension

Unions and Upward Mobility for Asian American and Pacific Islander Workers

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are, with Latinos, the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. workforce. In 2009, Asian American and Pacific Islanders were one of every 20 U.S. workers, up from one in 40 only 20 years earlier. AAPIs, again with Latinos, are also the fastest growing ethnic group in organized labor, accounting for just under one-in-20 unionized workers in 2009. Even after controlling for workers’ characteristics including age, education level, industry, and state, unionized AAPI workers earn about 14.3 percent more than non-unionized AAPI workers with similar characteristics. This translates to about $2.50 per hour more for unionized AAPI workers. Unionized AAPI workers are also about 16 percentage points more likely to have health insurance and about 22 percentage points more likely to have a retirement plan than their non-union counterparts. The advantages of unionization are greatest for AAPI workers in the 15 lowest-paying occupations. Unionized AAPI workers in these low-wage occupations earn about 20.1 percent more than AAPI workers with identical characteristics in the same generally low-wage occupations. Unionized AAPI workers in low-wage occupations are also about 23.2 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and 26.3 percentage points more likely to have a retirement plan through their job.unions, wages, benefits, pension, health insurance, asian

Unions and Upward Mobility for Asian Pacific American Workers

Asian Pacific American (APA) workers are, with Latinos, the fastest growing group in the U.S. workforce and in organized labor. Since the late 1980s, APA workers have seen their representation in the ranks of U.S. unions almost double, from about 2.5 percent of all union workers in 1989 to about 4.6 percent in 2008. This report uses national data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to show that unionization raises the wages of the typical APA worker by 9 percent compared to their non-union peers. The study goes on to show that unionization also increases the likelihood that an APA worker will have health insurance and a pension.unions, Asian, wages, benefits, pension