Editorial: Labor receives fresh look

Friday, April 7, 2000 | 9:45 a.m.

Labor's obituary has been written many times before by commentators who assert that unions are an anachronism in today's economy. Unions certainly have fallen on tough times as their memberships have hemorrhaged, but a recent study by a UNLV economics professor shows their continued relevance, including the key role they play in setting decent living wages.

Jeff Waddoups' study, which appears in the April 1 issue of the Journal of Labor Research, found that the average wages of Las Vegas hotel-casino service workers in "highly unionized" jobs were 24 percent higher than their counterparts in Reno. Waddoups concluded that the biggest reason for the gap is the influence of unions in the Las Vegas labor market, especially on the Strip. Of Las Vegas' hotel-casino workers, 29 percent belong to a union, while only 1.5 percent of the comparable work force in Reno is unionized.

Not only are union workers aided by labor's presence, but nonunion workers are as well because of what Waddoups dubs the "union threat" effect. "The union sets the standard and it's a powerful enough force in the labor market here that if the nonunion properties want to get the same quantity of labor, they pretty much have to meet the union standard," Waddoups told Sun reporter David Strow in a Thursday story.

The study's findings also show that a strong union presence can make all the difference in preventing workers from falling into financial despair. For instance, Waddoups notes that 14 of the 21 hotel-casino service job classifications in Reno had average wages below the poverty level. In contrast, just four of the 21 classifications were below the poverty level in Las Vegas. Labor's foothold in Las Vegas means that many hotel-casino workers can earn the kind of money that allows them to also benefit from our vibrant economy, whether it is making enough money to buy their own home or putting part of their paycheck into savings so they can send their children to college.

Waddoups' research belies the myth that unions are a drag on the economy. All in all, this study is a refreshing look at the positive impact unionization has had for workers and the economy in Las Vegas.