Internet address:  http://stats.bls.gov:80/newsrels.htm
Technical information:   (202) 606-6378     USDL 97-27

                                            For release:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                 606-5902     Friday, January 31, 1997


                           UNION MEMBERS IN 1996
                                     
                                     
   Union membership as a percent of wage and salary employment continued to
decline in 1996, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today.  Union members accounted for 14.5 percent of wage and
salary employment in 1996, down from 14.9 percent in 1995.  In 1983, the
first year for which comparable data are available, union members made up
20.1 percent of wage and salary workers.
   
   In 1996, as wage and salary employment continued to rise, the number who
were members of unions totaled 16.3 million, little changed from the prior
year.  Nearly three-fifths of union members (9.4 million) were in private
industry, where they constituted 10.2 percent of wage and salary
employment.  There were 6.9 million union members in government (federal,
state, and local), where they accounted for 37.7 percent of wage and salary
employment.
   
Membership by industry and occupation
   
   Among private industry groups, transportation and public utilities had
the highest proportion of workers who were union members (27 percent).
Other major groups with membership proportions above the private industry
average were construction (19 percent), manufacturing (17 percent), and
mining (14 percent).  The remaining private industry groups had
unionization rates ranging from 2 to 6 percent. (See table 3.)
   
   Precision production, craft, and repair occupations (including, for
example, mechanics, electricians, and other skilled trades workers) and
operators, fabricators, and laborers (including machine and vehicle
operators, assemblers, cleaners, and helpers) continued to have the highest
proportions of union members (23 percent each).  In contrast, union
membership proportions were about 1 in 10 among technical and
administrative support occupations and 1 in 20 among farming, forestry, and
fishing workers. (See table 3.)
   
Demographic characteristics of union members
   
   Union membership was higher among men (17 percent) than women (12
percent) and higher among blacks (19 percent) than either whites (14
percent) or Hispanics (13 percent).  Within these major groups, black men

                                  - 2 -

continued to have the highest union membership rate (22 percent), while
white women had the lowest rate (11 percent).  Workers ages 35 to 64 had
higher unionization rates than either younger or older workers.  Full-time
workers were more than twice as likely as part timers to be union members.
(See table 1.)
   
Union representation of non-members
   
   In 1996, 1.9 million wage and salary workers were represented at their
work place by a union, although they were not union members themselves.  A
little more than half worked in government.
   
Earnings
   
   Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median usual
weekly earnings of $615 in 1996, compared with a median of $462 for workers
not represented by unions.  (See tables 2 and 4.)  This difference reflects
a variety of influences in addition to coverage by a collective bargaining
agreement, including variations in the distribution of union members and
nonunion employees by gender, occupation, industry, firm size, or
geographic region.  (For a discussion of the problem of differentiating
between the influence of unionization status and other worker
characteristics on employee earnings, see Kay E. Anderson, Philip M. Doyle,
and Albert E. Schwenk, "Measuring union-nonunion earnings differences,"
Monthly Labor Review, June 1990, pp. 26-38.)  The disparities in union-
nonunion earnings were greater for women than for men and for Hispanics and
blacks than for whites.
Technical Note
   
   
   The union membership and earnings estimates presented in this release
are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS).  The CPS is a
monthly sample survey of about 50,000  households, conducted by the Bureau
of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The union membership
data are gathered quarterly through a quarter sample of the CPS.  The CPS
provides estimates of the number of wage and salary employees who are union
members and those who are represented by a union at their work place,
regardless of whether they are union members.  Union members include
employees belonging to traditional labor unions or to employee associations
similar to labor unions.  The membership estimates exclude workers who are
self-employed, not in the labor force, or unemployed.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory
impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-606-7828, TDD phone:
202-606-5897, TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577.
   
Definitions
   
   
   The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly
below.
   
   Wage and salary employees.  Employees in both the private and public
sectors who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or
piece rates.  Self-employed persons whose businesses are incorporated are
not counted as wage and salary workers for the purposes of the union
membership data.
   
   Full-time workers.  Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week.
   
   Part-time workers.  Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per
week.
   
   Hispanic origin.  Refers to persons who are of Mexican, Puerto Rican,
Cuban, Central or South American, or of other Hispanic origin or descent.
Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race; hence, they are included in
the numbers for the white and black population groups.
   
Reliability
   
   Because the CPS estimates of union membership are based in part on a
scientifically selected probability sample, rather than a census of the
entire population, they may differ from the results obtained from a census.
The sample used was one of many possible samples, each of which could have
produced different estimates.  The variation in the sample estimates across
all possible samples that could have been drawn is measured by the standard
error which for the CPS is estimated using generalized variance function
methodology.  The standard error may be used to calculate a "confidence
interval"  around a sample estimate.
   
                                  - 2 -

   The 90-percent confidence interval is the interval centered at the
sample estimate that includes all values within 1.6 times the estimate's
standard error.  If many different samples were selected to estimate the
population value (e.g., union membership), the 90-percent confidence
interval would include the true population value approximately 90 percent
of the time.
   
   For example, the estimate of 16,269,000 employed union members in 1996
has an estimated standard error of 146,645.  Hence, we are 90-percent
confident that the interval between 16,034,368 and 16,503,632 (or
16,269,000 + 1.6 X 146,645) includes the true population value for union
membership.
   
   The data also are subject to nonsampling error.  For example,
information on job-related characteristics of the worker, such as industry,
occupation, union membership, and earnings, are sometimes reported by a
household member other than the worker.  Consequently, such data may
reflect reporting error by the respondent.  Moreover, in some cases,
respondents might erroneously report "take home" pay rather than gross
earnings, or may round up or down from actual earnings.
   
   For a general discussion of the quality of employment data from the CPS,
see the Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error section of any issue of
Employment and Earnings, published monthly by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by selected characteristics

(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                               1995                                    1996                 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                        Members of     Represented              Members of     Represented  
                                                        unions(1)       by unions(2)            unions(1)       by unions(2)
               Characteristic                 Total                                   Total                                 
                                               em-                                     em-                                  
                                              ployed         Percent         Percent  ployed         Percent         Percent
                                                      Total     of    Total     of            Total     of    Total     of  
                                                               em-             em-                     em-             em-  
                                                              ployed          ployed                  ployed          ployed
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                SEX AND AGE                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                            
 Total, 16 years and over................... 110,038  16,360   14.9   18,346   16.7  111,960  16,269   14.5   18,158   16.2 
  16 to 24 years............................  18,205   1,022    5.6    1,199    6.6   18,106     991    5.5    1,146    6.3 
  25 years and over.........................  91,833  15,337   16.7   17,148   18.7   93,854  15,278   16.3   17,012   18.1 
   25 to 34 years...........................  29,761   3,596   12.1    4,090   13.7   29,564   3,536   12.0    3,994   13.5 
   35 to 44 years...........................  29,800   5,254   17.6    5,883   19.7   30,619   5,132   16.8    5,716   18.7 
   45 to 54 years...........................  20,623   4,483   21.7    4,964   24.1   21,641   4,626   21.4    5,106   23.6 
   55 to 64 years...........................   9,202   1,801   19.6    1,980   21.5    9,527   1,795   18.8    1,984   20.8 
   65 years and over........................   2,448     203    8.3      231    9.4    2,503     189    7.5      211    8.4 
                                                                                                                            
  Men, 16 years and over....................  57,669   9,929   17.2   10,868   18.8   58,473   9,859   16.9   10,761   18.4 
   16 to 24 years...........................   9,531     640    6.7      721    7.6    9,392     627    6.7      709    7.5 
   25 years and over........................  48,137   9,289   19.3   10,146   21.1   49,080   9,232   18.8   10,052   20.5 
    25 to 34 years..........................  16,094   2,220   13.8    2,469   15.3   15,930   2,205   13.8    2,434   15.3 
    35 to 44 years..........................  15,505   3,169   20.4    3,460   22.3   15,921   3,100   19.5    3,368   21.2 
    45 to 54 years..........................  10,521   2,679   25.5    2,885   27.4   10,936   2,739   25.0    2,960   27.1 
    55 to 64 years..........................   4,779   1,117   23.4    1,209   25.3    4,978   1,079   21.7    1,166   23.4 
    65 years and over.......................   1,238     105    8.5      123    9.9    1,315     109    8.3      124    9.5 
                                                                                                                            
  Women, 16 years and over..................  52,369   6,430   12.3    7,479   14.3   53,488   6,410   12.0    7,397   13.8 
   16 to 24 years...........................   8,673     382    4.4      478    5.5    8,714     364    4.2      437    5.0 
   25 years and over........................  43,696   6,048   13.8    7,001   16.0   44,773   6,046   13.5    6,960   15.5 
    25 to 34 years..........................  13,667   1,377   10.1    1,621   11.9   13,634   1,331    9.8    1,560   11.4 
    35 to 44 years..........................  14,295   2,085   14.6    2,423   16.9   14,698   2,032   13.8    2,349   16.0 
    45 to 54 years..........................  10,101   1,804   17.9    2,078   20.6   10,705   1,887   17.6    2,146   20.0 
    55 to 64 years..........................   4,423     685   15.5      771   17.4    4,549     716   15.7      818   18.0 
    65 years and over.......................   1,210      98    8.1      108    8.9    1,187      80    6.7       87    7.3 
                                                                                                                            
       RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX                                                                                       
                                                                                                                            
  White, 16 years and over..................  92,760  13,149   14.2   14,747   15.9   94,306  13,232   14.0   14,761   15.7 
    Men.....................................  49,162   8,178   16.6    8,960   18.2   49,961   8,216   16.4    8,961   17.9 
    Women...................................  43,598   4,971   11.4    5,787   13.3   44,345   5,016   11.3    5,800   13.1 
                                                                                                                            
  Black, 16 years and over..................  12,644   2,519   19.9    2,819   22.3   12,909   2,441   18.9    2,733   21.2 
    Men.....................................   6,005   1,353   22.5    1,460   24.3    6,031   1,303   21.6    1,428   23.7 
    Women...................................   6,639   1,167   17.6    1,358   20.5    6,878   1,138   16.5    1,305   19.0 
                                                                                                                            
  Hispanic origin, 16 years and over........  10,401   1,357   13.0    1,535   14.8   10,800   1,394   12.9    1,573   14.6 
    Men.....................................   6,223     871   14.0      969   15.6    6,455     881   13.7      971   15.0 
    Women...................................   4,178     486   11.6      565   13.5    4,345     513   11.8      602   13.9 
                                                                                                                            
        FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS(3)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                            
  Full-time workers.........................  89,282  14,790   16.6   16,531   18.5   90,918  14,762   16.2   16,429   18.1 
  Part-time workers.........................  20,550   1,537    7.5    1,781    8.7   20,810   1,477    7.1    1,697    8.2 

  1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
  2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
  3 The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked. Beginning in 1994, these data will
not sum to totals because full- or part-time status on the principal job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple
jobholders.
     NOTE:  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers.  Excluded are self-employed workers
whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers.  Detail for the above race
and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics
are included in both the white and black population groups. 
Table 2. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation and selected
characteristics
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
                                                           1995                            1996             
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
               Characteristic                        Members  Repre-                 Members  Repre-        
                                                        of    sented   Non-             of    sented   Non- 
                                              Total  unions-    by    union   Total  unions-    by    union 
                                                       (1)   unions-                   (1)   unions-        
                                                               (2)                             (2)          
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
                SEX AND AGE                                                                                 
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
 Total, 16 years and over...................   $479    $602    $598    $447    $490    $615    $610    $462 
  16 to 24 years............................    292     375     373     287     298     371     362     294 
  25 years and over.........................    510     613     610     486     520     625     621     498 
   25 to 34 years...........................    451     542     534     433     463     554     548     447 
   35 to 44 years...........................    550     621     619     520     559     636     632     530 
   45 to 54 years...........................    582     665     663     536     594     687     686     552 
   55 to 64 years...........................    514     614     614     482     535     620     616     505 
   65 years and over........................    389     509     506     362     384     510     510     367 
                                                                                                            
  Men, 16 years and over....................    538     640     638     507     557     653     651     520 
   16 to 24 years...........................    303     388     388     298     307     375     369     303 
   25 years and over........................    588     654     652     563     599     669     668     580 
    25 to 34 years..........................    490     583     579     475     499     591     587     485 
    35 to 44 years..........................    624     665     663     612     632     683     683     617 
    45 to 54 years..........................    685     705     706     670     698     718     721     682 
    55 to 64 years..........................    623     655     659     607     643     667     664     633 
    65 years and over.......................    441     615     619     400     477     589     593     424 
                                                                                                            
  Women, 16 years and over..................    406     527     523     386     418     549     543     398 
   16 to 24 years...........................    275     349     345     272     284     358     339     280 
   25 years and over........................    428     539     536     408     444     560     555     420 
    25 to 34 years..........................    403     492     488     393     415     497     495     405 
    35 to 44 years..........................    453     553     552     427     463     561     556     439 
    45 to 54 years..........................    464     595     593     423     481     620     616     445 
    55 to 64 years..........................    403     501     501     383     420     524     523     395 
    65 years and over.......................    353     435     425     333     334     417     413     321 
                                                                                                            
       RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX                                                                       
                                                                                                            
  White, 16 years and over..................    494     621     616     466     506     635     630     480 
    Men.....................................    566     661     658     526     580     675     673     544 
    Women...................................    415     551     546     395     428     572     564     408 
                                                                                                            
  Black, 16 years and over..................    383     503     500     348     387     507     502     356 
    Men.....................................    411     526     526     374     412     526     522     380 
    Women...................................    355     473     468     325     362     485     480     336 
                                                                                                            
  Hispanic origin, 16 years and over........    329     499     493     311     339     484     482     319 
    Men.....................................    350     528     523     321     356     511     511     330 
    Women...................................    305     423     419     291     316     436     433     305 

  1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
  2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers
who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
     NOTE:  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-time workers.  Excluded are self-employed
workers whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers. 
Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other
races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 
Table 3. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry

(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                               1995                                    1996                 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                        Members of     Represented              Members of     Represented  
                                                        unions(1)       by unions(2)            unions(1)       by unions(2)
          Occupation and industry             Total                                   Total                                 
                                               em-                                     em-                                  
                                              ployed         Percent         Percent  ployed         Percent         Percent
                                                      Total     of    Total     of            Total     of    Total     of  
                                                               em-             em-                     em-             em-  
                                                              ployed          ployed                  ployed          ployed
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                 OCCUPATION                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                            
Managerial and professional specialty.......  29,827   4,116   13.8    4,909   16.5   30,942   4,196   13.6    4,977   16.1 
  Executive, administrative, and managerial.  13,840     804    5.8    1,017    7.4   14,263     785    5.5    1,005    7.0 
  Professional specialty....................  15,987   3,312   20.7    3,892   24.3   16,679   3,410   20.4    3,972   23.8 
                                                                                                                            
Technical, sales, and administrative support  33,842   3,364    9.9    3,883   11.5   34,187   3,231    9.5    3,742   10.9 
  Technicians and related support...........   3,795     448   11.8      526   13.9    3,828     409   10.7      492   12.8 
  Sales occupations.........................  12,427     561    4.5      651    5.2   12,658     541    4.3      616    4.9 
  Administrative support, including clerical  17,620   2,355   13.4    2,706   15.4   17,701   2,281   12.9    2,634   14.9 
                                                                                                                            
Service occupations.........................  15,648   2,112   13.5    2,356   15.1   15,897   2,103   13.2    2,331   14.7 
  Protective service........................   2,236     900   40.2      978   43.7    2,154     852   39.5      909   42.2 
  Service, except protective service........  13,412   1,213    9.0    1,378   10.3   13,743   1,251    9.1    1,421   10.3 
                                                                                                                            
Precision production, craft, and repair.....  11,563   2,692   23.3    2,866   24.8   11,615   2,648   22.8    2,804   24.1 
                                                                                                                            
Operators, fabricators, and laborers........  17,304   3,983   23.0    4,229   24.4   17,428   4,000   23.0    4,201   24.1 
  Machine operators, assemblers, and                                                                                        
   inspectors...............................   7,639   1,780   23.3    1,892   24.8    7,584   1,752   23.1    1,838   24.2 
  Transportation and material moving                                                                                        
   occupations..............................   4,736   1,224   25.9    1,294   27.3    4,862   1,243   25.6    1,313   27.0 
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                
   laborers.................................   4,929     978   19.9    1,044   21.2    4,981   1,005   20.2    1,050   21.1 
                                                                                                                            
Farming, forestry, and fishing..............   1,855      91    4.9      104    5.6    1,892      92    4.9      104    5.5 
                                                                                                                            
                  INDUSTRY                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                            
Agricultural wage and salary workers........   1,575      33    2.1       43    2.7    1,710      32    1.9       37    2.2 
Private nonagricultural wage and salary                                                                                     
 workers....................................  90,121   9,400   10.4   10,318   11.4   92,059   9,385   10.2   10,293   11.2 
  Mining....................................     609      84   13.8       88   14.4      538      76   14.1       81   15.0 
  Construction..............................   5,135     908   17.7      963   18.8    5,387     994   18.5    1,033   19.2 
                                                                                                                            
  Manufacturing.............................  19,520   3,440   17.6    3,657   18.7   19,653   3,387   17.2    3,603   18.3 
    Durable goods...........................  11,424   2,153   18.8    2,286   20.0   11,642   2,157   18.5    2,282   19.6 
    Nondurable goods........................   8,096   1,286   15.9    1,371   16.9    8,011   1,230   15.4    1,320   16.5 
                                                                                                                            
  Transportation and public utilities.......   6,573   1,792   27.3    1,911   29.1    6,623   1,757   26.5    1,873   28.3 
    Transportation..........................   3,957   1,065   26.9    1,118   28.3    4,006   1,080   27.0    1,136   28.4 
    Communications and public utilities.....   2,616     726   27.8      793   30.3    2,617     677   25.9      737   28.2 
                                                                                                                            
  Wholesale and retail trade................  23,028   1,401    6.1    1,550    6.7   23,638   1,331    5.6    1,471    6.2 
    Wholesale trade.........................   4,251     283    6.6      319    7.5    4,357     271    6.2      292    6.7 
    Retail trade............................  18,777   1,118    6.0    1,231    6.6   19,280   1,059    5.5    1,179    6.1 
                                                                                                                            
  Finance, insurance, and real estate.......   6,745     139    2.1      173    2.6    6,863     168    2.4      210    3.1 
  Services..................................  28,511   1,636    5.7    1,976    6.9   29,357   1,672    5.7    2,024    6.9 
Government workers..........................  18,342   6,926   37.8    7,985   43.5   18,191   6,852   37.7    7,827   43.0 

  1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
  2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
     NOTE:  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers.  Excluded are self-employed workers
whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers. 
Table 4. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and
industry
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
                                                           1995                            1996             
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
          Occupation and industry                    Members  Repre-                 Members  Repre-        
                                                        of    sented   Non-             of    sented   Non- 
                                              Total  unions-    by    union   Total  unions-    by    union 
                                                       (1)   unions-                   (1)   unions-        
                                                               (2)                             (2)          
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
                 OCCUPATION                                                                                 
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            
Managerial and professional specialty.......   $703    $745    $737    $694    $718    $758    $749    $708 
  Executive, administrative, and managerial.    684     727     722     681     699     742     745     694 
  Professional specialty....................    718     750     741     707     730     762     750     721 
                                                                                                            
Technical, sales, and administrative support    426     522     516     414     441     532     524     427 
  Technicians and related support...........    558     629     619     542     573     664     661     554 
  Sales occupations.........................    454     457     466     453     474     451     459     475 
  Administrative support, including clerical    399     517     510     383     405     524     516     389 
                                                                                                            
Service occupations.........................    299     484     477     275     305     490     484     282 
  Protective service........................    528     678     676     399     538     693     686     413 
  Service, except protective service........    274     366     359     264     283     379     379     271 
                                                                                                            
Precision production, craft, and repair.....    519     688     684     478     540     703     698     494 
                                                                                                            
Operators, fabricators, and laborers........    380     524     519     338     391     528     522     353 
  Machine operators, assemblers, and                                                                        
   inspectors...............................    368     509     504     328     380     512     508     345 
  Transportation and material moving                                                                        
   occupations..............................    476     612     606     420     476     610     601     425 
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                
   laborers.................................    319     480     473     297     330     481     477     308 
                                                                                                            
Farming, forestry, and fishing..............    287     404     404     280     294     439     423     288 
                                                                                                            
                  INDUSTRY                                                                                  
                                                                                                            
Agricultural wage and salary workers........    291    (3)     (3)      289     306    (3)     (3)      305 
Private nonagricultural wage and salary                                                                     
 workers....................................    462    $573    $567     443     475    $584    $579     458 
  Mining....................................    667     684     682     663     693     698     699     690 
  Construction..............................    487     741     730     442     504     748     742     464 
                                                                                                            
  Manufacturing.............................    494     548     544     479     507     560     558     494 
    Durable goods...........................    517     576     573     503     533     588     587     517 
    Nondurable goods........................    454     506     504     438     466     510     507     453 
                                                                                                            
  Transportation and public utilities.......    590     676     673     545     596     680     676     555 
    Transportation..........................    523     659     651     488     527     656     649     491 
    Communications and public utilities.....    675     690     690     661     693     707     705     684 
                                                                                                            
  Wholesale and retail trade................    370     466     454     363     380     450     444     375 
    Wholesale trade.........................    492     541     524     489     503     566     551     500 
    Retail trade............................    333     425     419     325     343     408     408     338 
                                                                                                            
  Finance, insurance, and real estate.......    501     477     490     502     521     534     533     520 
  Services..................................    444     489     491     440     456     501     498     451 
Government workers..........................    575     638     633     500     592     657     651     519 

  1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
  2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers
who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
  3 Data not shown where base is less than 50,000.
     NOTE:  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-time workers.  Excluded are self-employed
workers whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers.