By Sahid Fawaz
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden all have something in common: the majority of workers there are in trade unions.
So, is life there better or worse over compared to the lives of workers in America, where less than 20% belong to a union?
Better. Much, much better. As you can see from the numbers below, the United States worker is worse off than citizens of every one of the more unionized countries in each category but one – and in that category, the US is the second worse off.
Here are a few highlights:
Guaranteed annual paid leave:
Denmark: 5 weeks
Finland: 6 weeks
Iceland: 6 weeks
Norway: 5 weeks
Sweden: 5 weeks
United States: 0 days
Guaranteed paid parental leave:
Denmark: 32 weeks
Finland: 26 weeks
Iceland: 52 weeks
Norway: 59 weeks
Sweden: 80 weeks
United States: 0 days
Income inequality (the ratio of the average income of the richest 10% to the poorest 10%):
Denmark: 8
Finland: 5.6
Iceland: NA
Norway: 6.1
Sweden: 6.2
United States: 16
Percentage of population without health insurance coverage:
Denmark: 0%
Finland: 0%
Iceland: 0%
Norway: 0%
Sweden: 0%
United States: 15%
Hours worked per year per worker:
Denmark: 1,438
Finland: 1,643
Iceland: 1,846
Norway: 1,408
Sweden: 1,607
United States: 1,788
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