The finances of major US unions

Financial resources have a significant impact on labor's current attempt to reassert itself. We examine the total assets, net worth, and income of unions in (1) a cross-sectional analysis of the distribution of financial resources across national, intermediate, and local levels of unions and (2) a longitudinal analysis of trends in a variety of financial measures. We observe considerable decentralization of financial resources across levels, substantial concentration of resources, and differences across and within union sectors. These results are discussed with regard to current merger activity.