Unions Improve Happiness

People who live in countries with a high density of union membership are happier than those who do not.

So says Benjamin Radcliff, a professor at Notre Dame and the co-author of a study about unions in 14 nations.

His study crunched life-satisfaction data from several European countries, as well as Japan, Australia and the Unite States.

Radcliff said he found "a causal relationship" between happiness and the density of unions.
"People who have union jobs like their jobs better," he told reporters. "And that puts pressure on other employers to extend the same benefits and wages to compete with the union shops."

Denmark ranks near the top in both categories while the United States, by contrast, ranks in the bottom third for happiness among the countries studied.

Resource: USW@Work