Unionized Wages

The $28 hourly wage that workers in unionized plants outside the South used to count on looks increasingly like a relic of the broadly shared prosperity that America used to enjoy. With private-sector unions now weakened by ineffectual labor laws and implacable employer opposition, manufacturing wages have been slashed to $14 an hour, or lower, in many places. Meanwhile, wages in retail and most other service sectors are unlikely to rise while historically higher wages in manufacturing continue to plummet. No wonder more and more Americans can’t afford to buy houses, despite record-low mortgage rates.