Union membership, density, and -busters

News usually goes beyond a recitation of statements; merely presenting a company’s or a government’s
framing of some policy or action can be incomplete, misleading or false.

If a house fire occurs, coverage should include a cause, an estimated loss, etc. Was it arson or spontaneous combustion? Limited to smoke damage in the kitchen or a total loss requiring immediate demolition?

A recent example that got some attention but little context was the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual report on union density. Late last month, the BLS reported that the share of America’s workers in unions declined from 10.0% in 2023 to 9.9% in 2024.

First, of course, the number of dues-paying union members isn’t the same as the number of workers a union represents – especially in Right To Work (for less) states and after Supreme Court decisions allowing some public employees to more easily become “free riders,” enjoying the benefits of union representation without sharing the costs of organizing, bargaining and enforcing contracts.

Few stories mentioned the number of union members vs. the number of workers represented – a distinction with a HUGE difference. And far fewer tried to explain how and why the percentage is virtually stagnant.

“If a workplace is unionized, all workers in the bargaining unit get the benefits of being represented by the union, even if they are not union members,” the Economic Policy Institute reminds us. “Thus, the share of workers represented by a union is somewhat higher than the share of workers who are members of a union. Because all workers in a bargaining unit get the benefit of being represented by the union, union representation is the more relevant statistic.”

So, 16.0 million U.S. workers were represented by a union. This was 11.1% – more than one in ten – of all wage and salary workers. That 16.0 million was a drop from 2023, but just 170,000; the 11.1% unionization rate was down, but barely, from 11.2%.

Next, people are right to be curious why, if more than two-third of Americans approve of unions, according to Gallup (which has showed such support grew from 48% in 2010 to 70% in 2024), more unionization hasn’t followed. Popular approval is at its highest level in more than half a century (and much higher than the approval rating for corporations).

And some wonder how, if the surge in approval has translated to active interest – petitions to unionize more than doubled since 2021, and were up 27% just last year, and about 1,800 union elections were held in 2024 – statistics didn’t budge much.

Maybe most startling is poll results showing that 60% of U.S. workers would join a union if they could.

Perhaps not fully appreciated by many regular Americans – but certainly realized by labor and its allies – is that the increasing disparity between the powerful rich and the rest of us for years has been used to prevent reform and attack organized labor. Further, there are few consequences for employers to break the laws that established workers’ rights.

As AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said, “Corporations and billionaires continue to union bust with impunity.”

EPI in a recent report agreed, noting, “The disconnect between the growing interest in unionization and declining unionization rates can be explained by the fact that there are powerful forces blocking the will of workers: aggressive opposition from employers combined with labor law that is so weak that it doesn’t truly protect workers’ right to organize.

The National Labor Relations Act guarantees most private-sector workers the right to join unions and bargain collectively. However, decades of federal policy and court decisions have weakened labor law, and employers often exploit weaknesses in U.S. labor law to mount aggressive opposition to unions. For example, the lack of civil monetary penalties for breaking the law allows employers to violate workers’ rights with little to no repercussions.

“Decades of attacks on unions both on the federal and state levels have made it hard for workers to form and maintain unions,” EPI continued. “Further, weaknesses in federal labor law have made it possible for employers to oppose unions.”

Americans may be at a moment of truth, Shuler added.

“Working people are ready for some long overdue change,” she said. “And more and more people are starting to realize that change starts when we stand together and demand it.”