Unionization is decreasing now---the plan is necessary to revitalize democracy
Cliffton et al. ‘21[Rita Cliffton, Malkie Wall, and Sam Ricketts, 7-7-2021, "The Clean Economy Revolution Will Be Unionized," Center for American Progress, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/clean-economy-revolution-will-unionized/, St. Mark's School of Texas, Ashrit Manduva '24]
Moreover, union membership can also strengthen democracy, at a time when working families in the United States need equitable and just representation in the nation’s highest political offices. Beyond their role as an active counterbalance to corporate power,18 unions represent one of the few interest groups whose positions line up with the interests of the middle class.19 Research shows that lawmakers representing strong union districts are more responsive to working-class constituents,20 and unions have been shown to increase voter turnout among both members and nonmembers.21
Years of de-unionization have harmed the middle class
Despite the evident health and livelihood benefits of unionization, the past five decades have seen declining union membership rates. Just 10.8 percent of Americans belonged to a union in 2020,22 down from nearly 30 percent in 1970.23 Jobs in the private sector, which are particularly pertinent in discussion of a clean economy transition, are only about 6 percent unionized.24 Declining unionization is strongly correlated with a downward trend in the share of national income garnered by the middle class.25 In fact, researchers estimate that the decline in unionization explains one-fifth to as much of one-third of the increase in wage inequality between 1973 and 2007.26 Once overlooked or avoided in some policy circles, the empirical evidence showing the benefits of unionization for economic and wage growth are now overwhelming and undeniable.