Union Membership

 February 3, 2021 Union membership has declined considerably from 13.1% in 2000 to a low of 10.3% in 2019.  However, it climbed to 10.8% in 2020 as the pandemic-triggered recession caused a big drop in largely non-union private sector jobs, while union member jobs in...

Union Membership — Private vs. Public Sectors

February 3, 2021 The overall rate of union membership has been declining for years and reached a low of 10.3% in 2019 before climbing to 10.8% in 2020.  However, the increase in 2020 caused a big drop in largely non-union private sector jobs, while union member jobs...

Union Membership — By State

February 3, 2021 At the very top of the list is Hawaii where 23.7% of its workers belonged to unions.  Union membership in Hawaii is particularly strong among hospitality workers.  It was closely followed by New York with 22.0%.  The main story in N.Y. is the public...

Union Membership — By Occupation

February 3, 2021 In 2020  14.3 million workers belonged to a union.  Of those 7.1 million were in the public sector compared to 7.2 million in the private sector.  However, the union membership rate for public sector workers at 34.8% was substantially higher than the...

Union Membership — Weekly Earnings

February 3, 2021 Unions have been extremely successful in attracting higher wages and benefits for their members when compared to comparable earnings for non-union workers. In 2020 union members earned $1,144 per week which is 19% higher than the $958 earned by...