Labor unions
Organizations of workers that bargain collectively over pay, benefits, and working conditions—shaping wage distributions and sometimes productivity.
Unions negotiate with employers or industry groups, deploy strikes or slowdowns as leverage, and engage politically on labor standards. Economists disagree on whether they mainly raise wages at the cost of employment or correct power imbalances in the workplace.
The “Economist’s Hour” narrative often places unions on the tension between market pricing of labor and institutional rules.
Dashboard connection
When labor metrics are wired into this app, union density and related labor-market indicators should sit near unemployment, wages, productivity, employment, and participation—so you can compare institutional labor settings across states, not only national averages.