Union Decline and Rising Inequality in Two Charts

Professor Colin Gordon created two animated graphs that show the relationship between union decline and inequality. The first graph charts the trajectory of union density against the share of national income going to the richest 10 percent of Americans. Based on the data, Gordon argues that "labor unions both sustained prosperity, and ensured that it was shared." The second graph plots income inequality against union coverage by state for 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009.