Average weekly earnings of nonsupervisory textile production workers were $477 in 2002, compared with $619 for production workers in all manufacturing and $506 for workers throughout private industry. Wages within the textile industry depend upon skill level and type of mill. Workers in textile goods manufacturing generally make more than those working in yarn and fabric mills. In addition to typical benefits, employees often are eligible for discounts in factory merchandise stores.
Only 6.3 percent of textile workers were union members or were covered by a union contract in 2002, compared with 15 percent for the economy as a whole. The most prominent union in the industry is the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), which was formed in 1995 by the merger of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union and the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union.