The middle class and unions are inextricably linked. As union membership has declined income inequality has skyrocketed, as this chart from the Center for American Progress shows:

A new report released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows another benefit from being in a union. The report looked at workers with comparable “experience, education, region, industry, occupation, and marital status” and found that similar workers in a union earned on average 13.6 percent more than their non-union colleagues. Here’s a table from the report showing some of these results:

The message of these stats is clear. If you want to rebuild the middle class, start by rebuilding unions. Read the full EPI report on unions and inequality here.