The Nation. BLS estimates that in 2012, 14.4 million wage and salary workers were members of unions. That represents 11.3 percent of wage and salary workers—down from 11.8 in 2011. This follows a general trend of declining membership share over at least the past three decades. Union’s share of wage and salary workers in 1983 (20.1 percent) gets close to doubling the 2012 rate. In other words, the recent 2012 decline merely continues a pattern of shrinking union membership across the U.S.
In Utah. Utah is a right-to-work state where workers cannot be required to be a union members as a condition of employment. So, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that Utah’s 2012 union membership rate of 5.2 percent ranks far below the national average. Utah ranks as the tenth least-unionized state in the nation. Utah’s member ship rate has also experienced a relatively steady decline over the past decade. However, there was a surge in the union membership share during the recent housing boom. That’s most likely because many of the industries showing rapid expansion have a higher-than-average share of union workers. Nevertheless, during the post-recession the contraction continued.
Why? Which leads at least to a partial answer to the question: “Why is the share of workers in unions demonstrating such a steady decline?” As our economy’s industrial base has changed towards more service-producing employment and less-goods producing employment, union membership declined because goods producing industries tend to have lower shares of union members. In addition, more states have enacted right-to-work laws. Currently, almost half of states have right-to-work laws on the books—mostly in the intermountain, middle-west and southern parts of the U.S.
Industry Comparison. Which industries are most likely to display high union membership? The first answer to this question might surprise you. No, it is not transportation with its Teamsters. No, it is not manufacturing with its higher-than-average labor organization. The public sector (yes, government) shows the highest level of union membership—almost 36 percent. Say what? Remember that local government includes public education where most teachers belong to a union. However, membership rates remain high in both state and federal governments. In the private sector, the “usual suspects” do show high union membership levels—utilities (27 percent), transportation (21 percent), construction (14 percent) and manufacturing (10 percent) are ranked among the most organized sectors. Industries showing the lowest rates include agriculture (1 percent) and financial activities (2 percent).
Other interesting facts about union membership?
• By occupation, workers in education/training/library (35 percent) and protective service (35 percent) occupations show the highest unionization rates.
• Black/African-American workers are more likely to be union members that white, Asian or Hispanic/Latino workers.
• Men are more likely to be union members than women.
• Workers 55-to-64 display highest union membership rates; 16-to-24 year-olds the lowest.
The Earnings Split. Conventional wisdom would suggest that union workers receive higher wages than their nonunionized counterparts. The BLS data confirms this proposition. In transportation, median weekly earnings for full-time union workers measured $948 compared to the nonunion worker’s wages of $746. In manufacturing, union workers’ median weekly wage equaled $872 while the nonunion worker took home $786. The median wage for unionized construction workers registered $1,086 while the nonunion construction worker made substantially less—$722. Of course, as with most things economic, higher wages come with a trade-off. Just as you purchase less gasoline with the price goes up, employers purchase (employ) fewer workers at a higher price (wage). In other words, while providing higher wages, unions tend to restrain the number of jobs available.
For more information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ recent union data release, click here.
