Despite the slower pace of the post-election season, Assistant Professor Greg Shufeldt of the UALR Department of Political Science remains active with major media outlets, including a recent contribution to Op-Talk, a New York Times blog devoted to topical debates and the voices behind them.

NYT Op-Talk editor John Guida highlighted research by Shufeldt and his colleague, Dr. Patrick Flavin of Baylor University, that provides evidence union members are more satisfied with their lives than are non-members.

“If our paper could give any advice to labor unions, it is hopefully that we can give new meaning to the adage, ‘don’t mourn, organize,’” the researchers told Guida, in an email.

Shufeldt and Flavin’s paper notes that membership in a union “boosts life satisfaction across demographic groups regardless if someone is rich or poor, male or female, young or old, or has a high or low level of education.”

On the heels of the NYT blog post, the report was tweeted by the Washington D.C.-based AFL-CIO and posted by several other online news outlets and agencies.

Perhaps most notable, the authors were contacted by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Shufeldt said.

AFSCME not only posted the study on their homepage, the organization also created a special landing page with a short YouTube video using the catchy pop-song “Happy” by musician Pharrell Williams to exemplify the difference union membership can make.