Labor Unions Continue to Show Little Growth
February 1, 2006
by Employment & Labor Law / Employee Benefits Group
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
Copyright © 2006
The percentage of employees in the private sector who were union members dropped to 7.8 percent in 2005, another historic low, according to a January 20, 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Union Members – Nearly 15.7 million workers were union members in 2005, up from 15.5 million in 2004. Less than a fourth (50,000) of the new members added to the union ranks, however, were employed in the private sector. Overall, 12.5 percent of all workers (public and private sector) were union members in 2005, unchanged from 2004. "The union membership rate has declined from a high of 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available."
Public Sector vs. Private Sector – In 2005, workers in the public sector (36.5 percent) had a union membership rate more than four times that of private sector (7.8 percent) employees.
Industries – "Among major private industries, transportation and utilities had the highest union membership rate, at 24.0 percent. Information industries (13.6 percent), construction (13.1 percent), and manufacturing (13.0 percent) also had higher-than-average rates. Within the information industry, telecommunications had a 21.4 percent union membership rate. Financial activities had the lowest unionization rate in 2005 at 2.3 percent."
Men vs. Women – "In 2005, the union membership rate was higher rate for men (13.5 percent) than for women (11.3 percent). The gap between their rates has narrowed considerably since 1983, when the rate for men was 10 percentage points higher than the rate for women."
Race of Union Members – "Blacks were more likely to be union members (15.1 percent) than were whites (12.2 percent), Asians (11.2 percent), or Hispanics (10.4 percent)."
Age of Union Members – Among age groups, union membership rates were highest among workers 45 to 64 years old (16.5 percent) and were lowest among young workers 16 to 24 (4.6 percent) and 25 to 34 years old (10.7 percent).
Full-Time vs. Part-Time – Full-time workers (13.7 percent) were more than twice as likely as part-time workers (6.5 percent) to be union members.
Non-members – About 1.5 million workers were represented by a union on their job in 2005, while not being union members themselves. About half of these workers were employed in government.
States – "Just over half (7.9 million) of the 15.7 million union members in the U.S. lived in six states (California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and New Jersey), though these states accounted for slightly less than one-third of wage and salary employment nationally."
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Arizona – The percentage of workers represented by a union declined in 2005 in Missouri (from 12.4 to 11.5 percent), Kansas (from 8.4 to 7.0 percent), and Arizona (from 6.3 percent to 6.1 percent). The percentage of a union members in Nebraska (8.3 percent) in 2005 remained unchanged from a year earlier.
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP is one of the country's largest law firms with more than 335 attorneys in more than 45-industry-focused areas. If you would like more information regarding this summary, please contact one of our Employment & Labor Law and Employee Benefits attorneys.
Law at Work is designed to give general information and is not intended to be a comprehensive summary or to treat exhaustively the subjects and matters covered. The information appearing herein does not constitute legal advice or opinions. Such advice and opinions are provided only upon engagement with respect to specific factual situations. Nothing contained herein shall be considered as an admission in any matter or controversy.
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