Earnings inequality in the US has risen in recent decades, with social class inequalities being a central component of this trend. While technological change and de-unionisation are considered key contributors to increased earnings dispersion, their specific influence on inequalities between employees’ social classes has received limited attention. This study theoretically and empirically investigates the relationship between technological change, de-unionisation and the earnings trajectories of occupational classes from 1984 to 2019. The empirical analysis uses industry-level time-series cross-section data and industry-level measures of union density, computer investments and class earnings. Descriptive analyses show earnings growth for non-manual classes and stagnant or declining earnings for manual ones. Results provide limited evidence that computerisation affected classes differently in the industries where introduced. In contrast, industry-level de-unionisation reinforced class inequalities in two ways. First, unionisation exhibited a stronger association with lower-class earnings. Second, manual workers were more prevalent in industries that experienced substantial declines in union density.

中文翻译：

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美国的工会、技术和社会阶级不平等，1984-2019

近几十年来，美国的收入不平等现象有所加剧，社会阶层不平等是这一趋势的核心组成部分。虽然技术变革和工会解散被认为是收入差距扩大的关键因素，但它们对员工社会阶层之间不平等的具体影响却受到有限的关注。本研究从理论上和实证上探讨了 1984 年至 2019 年技术变革、去工会化和职业阶层收入轨迹之间的关系。实证分析使用了行业级时间序列横截面数据和行业级工会密度指标，计算机投资和班级收入。描述性分析显示，非手工课程的收入增长，而手工课程的收入停滞或下降。结果提供了有限的证据，表明计算机化对引入的行业中的阶级产生了不同的影响。相比之下，行业层面的去工会化在两个方面加剧了阶级不平等。首先，工会化与下层收入有更紧密的联系。其次，体力工人在工会密度大幅下降的行业中更为普遍。