The decline in U.S. union membership is costing non-unionised workers thousands of dollars per year in pay, a new report has found.

The study from the Economic Policy Institute looked at how the decline of unions had impacted the earnings of workers who didn’t belong to unions. The authors found that if trade unions were as strong today as they were in the late 1970s, non-unionsed workers would be earning a potential $14 to $52 a week extra. Women are on the low end of this range because women had lower wages to begin with, the report added.

Italy's finance unions have asked their members to donate part of their salaries to support workers and families affected by the country's recent earthquake.

Angelo Di Cristo of FABI said, “The unions all together have invited bank workers to donate 10 euros of their salary. If they do so, the bank will donate the same amount.”