Union Membership on the Rise

by James Parks, Jan 25, 2008

The percentage of workers who belong to unions increased last year, according to the annual union membership report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Some 311,000 new members joined unions in 2007, the largest single-year increase since 1979. Overall, the rate of union membership increased slightly to 12.1 percent last year, from 12 percent in 2006, reversing a trend of decline in recent years.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says: 

Today’s numbers show working people are pushing to form and join unions in order to improve their lives, despite record levels of resistance from employers. They know that a union card is the single best ticket into the middle class, especially in today’s economy.  

The largest increase in union membership was in health services, where unions added 142,000 members, a 0.9 percent increase from 2006 to 7.9 percent. 

In the private sector, union membership grew by 133,000, and union density grew to 7.5 percent in 2007, the first time private-sector density grew since 1979. In construction alone, more than 96,000 members were added last year, bumping the union membership rate in that industry to 13.9 percent, up from 13 percent in 2006. 

The increase was especially noticeable among women. More than 201,000 women joined unions in 2007, nearly twice the number of men.  Women now account for 44 percent of all union members, a new high.

Click here to read a summary of the BLS report. 

The advantages of having a union on the job were clear in 2007. Last year, median weekly pay for union members was $863, while those who were not represented by unions had median weekly earnings of $663. 

The growth in membership reflects an increased commitment by unions to help workers who want to join, Sweeney says.  

Our unions have been working hard over the last 10 years to build their strategic capacity to help workers join unions, even in this hostile legal environment where workers’ right to organize has been all but eliminated. The fact that our unions have been able to grow despite a slowing economy and a decline in the public sector is a good sign. As we’ve built political support and held elected officials who oppose workers’ rights accountable, more working people have been able to exercise their choice to join unions. But we know so much more needs to be done.

The number of union members could increase dramatically if the next Congress passes and the new president signs the Employee Free Choice Act. Some 60 million U.S. workers say they would join a union if they could, based on research conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates in December 2006. But when workers try to gain a voice on the job by forming a union, employers routinely respond with intimidation, harassment and retaliation. The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to freely decide whether to join a union.As Sweeney says: