UPS also has a market cap of 156B$ vs Fedex’s 66B$. Both average around 90B$ in revenue. Fedex drivers maker an average of 52k$ a year. Fedex doesn’t have any unions.
In summary, it seems that having a union helps workers earn a lot more, but also help the company have significantly better stock market performance.
It really depends on the quality of benefits package. For example my brother and father are white collar types working for organizations with extremely strong unions. Their compensation includes full medical/dental insurance (no out of pocket) for them and their dependents that their employer pays $6,500 a month for. Their employer contribution to the agreed upon pension plan is also thousands a month. They have showed me the itemized documentation and I’m always jealous since they get a $130K salary then their employer spends almost as much on their benefits while I’m stuck in a job where I have to pay for things like dental or major hospitalization out of pocket.
I’m not claiming you are cheaping out on your employee benefits as a business owner but if you are paying so little I have to assume you are making your employees pay half for things like medical insurance and it’s the type of medical insurance that doesn’t cover full dental. I also have to assume you aren’t providing your employees with a full pension but instead doing the 401K match scheme employers in the US pull to avoid actually providing a robust pension plan. Most employers in the US skimp out on dental coverage and for anything other than preventive care people are expected to pay tens of thousands out of pocket for basic things like braces for their children or dental surgeries.
Going to be honest, not sure how pensions work. Current two businesses have 3 employees each. Paid medical, dental, vision (even through 2020-2022 regardless of hours worked). 6% 401k matching regardless of employee contribution, yes, again, didn’t realize pensions were high demand and happy to look into it.
While I realize I’m not a big company, we do our best to pay a minimum $52k salary (or commensurate hourly because of local law). Plus health benefits, phone/internet reimbursement, 4x10 optional work week, lenient “unlimited” vacation and sick, etc. etc. - I do realize $52k base isn’t the most amazing thing on earth…I take zero money from the business though, it all goes to employees.
All that to say, I am totally open to opportunities to better myself as an employer.
edit:
On the $6500 front, I just don’t know. A full family for us right now costs us about $1800/mo, basically everything and then some is covered but deductibles are like $2000 which I have heard is high…so I guess to your point, we could drop the deductible to $500 but then the monthly almost doubles. To me, it makes more sense to keep the ~$1500/mo increase in lieu of a $1500/hr difference and then pay that back to the employee as best I can.
Again…open to suggestions.