Declining union membership can be disastrous for public health

Declining union membership could be making working-class Americans less happy and more susceptible to drug overdoses

Protesters gather at a union-organized rally outside the U.S. Capitol in February 2025. Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty ImagesWhen fewer people belong to unions and unions have less power, the impact goes beyond wages and job security. Those changes can hurt public health and make people more unhappy. We’re economists who research labor and health issues. Those are two of the main findings of studies that we have conducted. More unionization, more…

Declining union membership can be disastrous for public health

When fewer people belong to unions and unions have less power, the impact goes beyond wages and job security -- public health and happiness also suffer.

Union decline linked to unhappiness and opioid rise

As union membership falls, studies show a rise in unhappiness and opioid overdoses, linking weakened labor power to worsening public health outcomes. The post Declining union membership could be making working-class Americans less happy and more susceptible to drug overdoses first appeared on Idaho Business Review.

Labor Unions and Working Class Health

An interesting study tying union membership to working class health. When fewer people belong to unions and unions have less power, the impact goes beyond wages and job security. Those changes can hurt public health and make people more unhappy. We’re economists who research labor and health issues. Those are two of the main findings of studies that we have conducted. In the first study on this topic that we published in 2023, we found that inc…