Middle-class incomes in Michigan fell between 1979 and 2007, even though the state's overall economy grew. A new study from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that over the past three decades, Michigan’s middle-class workers did worse than middle-class U.S. workers in general because collective bargaining had eroded more in Michigan than in the rest of the country. 

Larry Mishel, president of EPI, says:

While the income of the typical household in the U.S. rose 7.3 percent from 1979 to 2010, the income of the typical household in Michigan fell 11.2 percent. 

EPI reports:

In Michigan, the share of the workforce covered by a collective bargaining agreement fell from 32.8 percent in 1983 to 18.3 percent in 2011, a drop of 14.5 percentage points. It fell particularly sharply in manufacturing, dropping from 48.8 percent to 20.4 percent from 1983 to 2011. In the U.S. as a whole, the share fell 10 percentage points, from 23.3 percent to 13.0 percent.

EPI's study shows how collective bargaining leads to higher wages and benefits for middle-class workers, whether they are directly covered by collective bargaining agreements or not.  

Read the entire study: " The Decline of Collective Bargaining and the Erosion of Middle-Class Incomes in Michigan ."