- The number of US workers in unions fell by about 300,000 between 2020 and 2021.
Union membership rates vary across the US with rates of over 20% in Hawaii and New York.
The number of workers in unions fell yet again in 2021 — and the
Most states actually had union membership rates below that average. Only 20 states had rates above the national average — and ten states actually had union membership rates that were below 5.0%, including Texas and North Carolina.
The following map highlights what the share of wage and salary workers in unions looked like across the country in 2021:
Hawaii had the highest share of workers who are union members, at 22.4%. New York followed right behind Hawaii with a share of 22.2%. On the other end, only 1.7% of South Carolina workers were in unions last year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted in today's news release just how membership rates differed in different parts of the country.
"All states in both the East South Central and West South Central divisions had union membership rates below the national average, while all states in both the Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions had rates above it," BLS wrote.
John Schmitt, an economist at EPI, said that whether a state is "
"Right to work" legislation essentially prohibits union contracts that require all unit members to pay union fees; that means workers don't have to join the union or pay its dues if they don't join, even if they receive the benefits of that union contract.
Advocates argue that "right to work" legislation cuts down on "compulsory unionism." EPI found that wages in right to work are lower than states without the legislation, and the AFL-CIO says poverty and the percentage of people without health insurance is higher in right to work states.
At least 27 states have right to work legislation, including Texas and Utah, which both have low union membership.
Those low rates show a disjointedness between the actual number of workers in unions, and the upswell of union activity — such as large strikes at John Deere and Kellogg's — and pro-union sentiment reaching its highest point since 1965. The dip in union membership comes after decades of declines.
"The substantial level of union activity in 2021 and the polling data on union favorability demonstrate that workers want and value unions," Heidi Shierholz, the president of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute (EPI), said in a call with reporters. "The fact that unionization nevertheless declined in 2021 is just a glaring testament to how easy it is for employers who oppose unions to exploit our weak, outdated labor laws."