I just heard the President say that if he wanted to make more money he would join a union.  Bad advice.  The best way to improve your worth in the employment market place is to get an education.  Don’t join a union.  Join an employer who pays based on performance, effort, skill and education required.  Unions don’t employ people.  Employers employ people.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released a summary report that showed a very small percentage of workers are paid minimum wage.  In a nut shell the report stated that 5.8% of workers with no high school diploma earned minimum wage, compared to 1.5% of workers with a high school diploma.  Less than 1% of college graduates are in minimum wage jobs.  The study also verified that most minimum wage workers are in the service industry and are under 25 years of age.  The value of a job is determined by the amount of knowledge, skill and effort required to perform the job.  If you can learn the job in 7.25 hours, you will probably be paid $7.25 an hour.  The way out of poverty is not joining a union, which actually costs you money (dues and fees) — it is getting an education and joining an employer!   All the best.