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REAP… A REVIEW OF U.S. UNION MEMBERSHIPMarch 5, 2007 E-MAIL: INFO@REAPINC.ORG WEBSITE: WWW.REAPINC.ORG
According to a U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics report on union membership dated January 5, 2007, U.S. union membership stood as follows:
A) In 2006, 12.0 percent of wage and salaried workers were union members down from 12.3 percent.
B) Of the 123.5 million workers over 16 years of age, 12.0 percent or 15.4 million workers were union members.
C) Union membership has declined since 1953, when the percent of American workers who belonged to unions reached 32.5 percent.
UNION MEMBERSHIP IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
UNION MEMBERSHIP IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR
HIGHLY ORGANIZED INDUSTRY SECTORS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR
E) About 1.5 million workers in 2006 were covered by a union contract but were not members of a union.
F) In 2006, 29 states and the District of Columbia had union membership below the U.S. average of 12.0 percent while 20 states had higher rates and one had the same..
G) Almost half of the 15.4 million union workers (7.5 million) lived in six states: California , New York , Illinois , Michigan , Ohio and New Jersey.
H) The largest number of union members lived in: California (2.3 million), New York (2.0 million) and Illinois (0.90 million).
J) North Carolina and South Carolina continue to show the lowest union membership rate of 3.3 each.
CHARACTERISTICS OF UNION MEMBERS
MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS FULL-TIME WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS
PERCENT OF UNION MEMBERS BY STATE 2005
RESISTENCE TO ORGANIZED LABOR
The creation of the labor movement in the United States was one of the most violent in the world. American capitalists in the 19 th Century used their vast wealth and resources to destroy unionization wherever it cropped up. Employer litigation against unions, mass firings, beatings, and even killings were common place in America . Employers and their reactionary political friends at all levels of government have and continue to try and destroy organized labor.
The freedom of workers to join together in unions and bargain collectively is a fundamental human right that U.S. labor law guarantees in principle. A law that has been on the books since 1935, however, when American workers seek to exercise this right today, they nearly always meet threats, coercion and outright warfare from the employers. These and other tactics are designed to suppress workers' freedoms to organize a union. They do so with devastating effectiveness.
Employer Interference by the Numbers
1) Employers that illegally fire at least one worker for union activity during an organizing drive: 25%.
2) Employers that hire union–busting consultants to help destroy organizing drives: 75%
3) Employers that force employees to attend one on one anti-union meetings: 78%
4) Employers that force employees to attend mandatory anti-union presentations: 92%
5) Employers that threaten to call the Immigration Service during an organizing drive that includes undocumented employees: 52%
6) Companies that threaten to close the facility if the union wins the election: 51%
7) Companies that actually close their facility after the union wins the election: 1%
8) Workers in 1998 who won cases proving they had been illegally discriminated against for union activity: 24,000
9) Non-union workers who say they want to join a union: 42 million.
10) Share of U.S. workers who belong to unions: 12.9 percent.
11) Share of U.S. workers who would be in unions if workers could choose freely: 44%
Sources: Human Rights Watch , U.S. Trade Deficit Review, Impact of Capital Mobility on Workers, Wages and Union Organizing Kate Bronfenbrenner, AFL-CIO
THE GALLUP ORGANIZTION POLL SHOWS
Despite labor's small membership base today and Corporate America's unrelenting attack on unions, most Americans approve of labor unions and believe that unions are generally helpful to workers who are union members, helpful to companies where workers are organized, and helpful to the economy.
Public reaction to labor unions is one of the longest running trends maintained by the Gallup Poll. The question of “Do you approve or disapprove of labor unions?” was first asked in 1936, one year after Congress passed the Wagner Act establishing the right of private sector employees to join unions.
DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF UNIONS
When Americans were asked if unions do more good than harm, 58 percent responded more good while 39 percent responded more harm. Gallup Poll August 2003.
According to a Gallup Poll when asked. “overall do you think labor unions mostly help or mostly hurt,” Americans responded:
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