[ShabbyDoo]

A grocery store deli manager in the mid-80's likely would have been a union member, especially in Chicago. It would be interesting to compare real wage changes in non-unionized vocations vs. highly unionized ones to tease out relative impact of macroeconomic changes vs. the decline of unions and their power to impart wealth transfer.

[scrod]

This is an excellent point. The decline of unions is probably one of the greatest reasons why wages have stagnated over the last 30 years.