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U.S. workers who have the greatest need for employee benefits – workers earning less than $15 per hour – are the least likely to receive them.

The new 2006 survey of benefits from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) offers a close look at the huge gap that exists between benefits for union and nonunion workers and for low-wage and higher-wage workers. The survey covers 10,370 private companies employing 105 million workers – the vast majority of the private sector workforce.

The bottom line is that union workers continue to receive benefits that are far superior to those provided for nonunion workers, and most low-wage workers are not covered by benefit plans or cannot afford to participate in them.

The BLS draws a crucial distinction between access to benefits and participation in benefits. This is where the real truth of the crisis in health care now lies. Only 71 percent of workers have access to health insurance through their employers.

For low-wage workers earning less than $15 an hour, that portion drops to 57 percent, and only 38 percent participate in the health benefits offered, down from 40 percent three years ago. With employers pushing more costs onto workers, more low-wage workers cannot afford to participate in the health benefits offered.

While 89 percent of union workers are covered by health care benefits and 80 percent participate, only 68 percent of nonunion workers are covered, and only 49 percent participate, down from 50 percent three years ago.

Other findings from the survey show the huge differences in benefits coverage for union and nonunion and low and higher-wage workers: Union workers paid an average of 19 percent of the cost of premiums for family health care benefits in 2003 and 14 percent today; employers pay 86 percent. But nonunion workers carried 31 percent of the costs in 2003 and 33 percent today, with employers picking up 67 percent. Low-wage workers earning less than $15 per hour pay 34 percent of their health insurance premiums for family coverage, while higher-wage workers pay 27 percent. Low-wage workers pay an average of $311.29 for premiums for family coverage, up from $238.41 in 2003, an increase of 30 percent, or $874.56 more per year, than they paid in 2003. Higher-wage workers pay an average of $286.23, up from $220.04 in 2003, an increase $794.28 per year. Union workers paid an average flat monthly contribution for medical insurance of $174.60 for family coverage in 2003 and now pay $196.60; nonunion workers paid $234.35 in 2003 and $308.88 in 2006. Wellness programs, now widely recognized as an important tool to improve health care and lower costs, are available to 23 percent of all employees, up from 17 percent in 1999. But only 15 percent of low-wage workers have access to these programs, compared with 35 percent of those earning $15 an hour or more. Employee assistance programs are available to 29 percent of workers earning less than $15 per hour, compared with 53 percent of those earning $15 an hour or more. Among union workers, 60 percent have access to these programs, compared with 37 percent of nonunion workers. Seventy percent of union workers are covered by defined benefit pension plans, compared with only 15 percent of nonunion workers. Only 11 percent of workers earning less than $15 per hour are eligible for defined benefit pension plans, although these are clearly the workers who are least likely to be able to save for retirement. Thirty-four percent of workers earning $15 an hour or more are eligible for these plans. Among low-wage workers, only 43 percent have access to a defined contribution retirement plan such as a 401(k), and only 31 percent participate in a plan – hardly surprising since most of these plans require some contribution from the employee. Low-wage workers are also far less likely to be protected by life and disability insurance. Only 40 percent of workers earning less that $15 per hour have access to life insurance, compared with 67 percent of those who earn more. Only 27 percent of low-wage earners have access to short-term disability coverage and 17 percent have access to long-term coverage, compared with 54 percent of higher-wage workers with access to short-term disability and 48 percent with access to long-term coverage. Union workers receive an average of 10 paid holidays per year, compared with eight for nonunion workers. Low-wage workers receive an average of seven paid holidays each year, compared with nine per year for workers earning $15 per hour or more. Only nine percent of low-wage workers have access to employer assistance for childcare, compared with 22 percent of higher paid workers.



From Labor Research Association