For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday. January 23, 2013                     USDL-13-0105

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                                 UNION MEMBERS -- 2012


In 2012, the union membership rate--the percent of wage and salary workers who were
members of a union--was 11.3 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 2011, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. The number of wage and salary workers belonging
to unions, at 14.4 million, also declined over the year. In 1983, the first year for
which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent,
and there were 17.7 million union workers.

The data on union membership were collected as part of the Current Population Survey
(CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on
employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian noninstitutional population
ages 16 and over. For more information, see the Technical Note.

Highlights from the 2012 data:

   --Public-sector workers had a union membership rate (35.9 percent) more than
     five times higher than that of private-sector workers (6.6 percent). (See
     table 3.)

   --Workers in education, training, and library occupations and in protective
     service occupations had the highest unionization rates, at 35.4 and 34.8
     percent, respectively. (See table 3.)

   --Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white, Asian, or
     Hispanic workers. (See table 1.)

   --Among states, New York continued to have the highest union membership rate
     (23.2 percent), and North Carolina again had the lowest rate (2.9 percent).
     (See table 5.)

Industry and Occupation of Union Members

In 2012, 7.3 million employees in the public sector belonged to a union, compared
with 7.0 million union workers in the private sector. The union membership rate for
public-sector workers (35.9 percent) was substantially higher than the rate for
private-sector workers (6.6 percent). Within the public sector, local government
workers had the highest union membership rate, 41.7 percent. This group includes
workers in heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, police officers, and
firefighters. Private-sector industries with high unionization rates included
transportation and utilities (20.6 percent) and construction (13.2 percent).  Low
unionization rates occurred in agriculture and related industries (1.4 percent) and
in financial activities (1.9 percent). (See table 3.)

Among occupational groups, education, training, and library occupations (35.4 percent)
and protective service occupations (34.8 percent) had the highest unionization rates
in 2012. Sales and related occupations (2.9 percent) and farming, fishing, and forestry
occupations (3.4 percent) had the lowest unionization rates. (See table 3.)

Selected Characteristics of Union Members

The union membership rate was higher for men (12.0 percent) than for women (10.5 percent)
in 2012. (See table 1.) The gap between their rates has narrowed considerably since 1983,
when the rate for men was 24.7 percent and the rate for women was 14.6 percent.

In 2012, among major race and ethnicity groups, black workers had a higher union
membership rate (13.4 percent) than workers who were white (11.1 percent), Asian (9.6
percent), or Hispanic (9.8 percent). Black men had the highest union membership rate
(14.8 percent), while Asian men had the lowest rate (8.9 percent).

By age, the union membership rate was highest among workers ages 55 to 64 (14.9 percent).
The lowest union membership rate occurred among those ages 16 to 24 (4.2 percent).

Full-time workers were about twice as likely as part-time workers to be union members,
12.5 percent compared with 6.0 percent.

Union Representation

In 2012, 15.9 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union. This group
includes both union members (14.4 million) and workers who report no union affiliation
but whose jobs are covered by a union contract (1.6 million). (See table 1.) Private-
sector employees comprised about half (814,000) of the 1.6 million workers who were
covered by a union contract but were not members of a union. (See table 3.)

Earnings

In 2012, among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median usual weekly
earnings of $943, while those who were not union members had median weekly earnings
of $742. In addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, this earnings
difference reflects a variety of influences, including variations in the distributions
of union members and nonunion employees by occupation, industry, firm size, or geographic
region. (See table 2.)

Union Membership by State

In 2012, 31 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that
of the U.S. average, 11.3 percent, while 19 states had higher rates. All states in the
Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions reported union membership rates above the national
average, and all states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions had
rates below it. Union membership rates declined over the year in 34 states, rose in 14
states and the District of Columbia, and remained unchanged in 2 states. (See table 5.)

Eight states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2012. North Carolina had
the lowest rate (2.9 percent), followed by Arkansas (3.2 percent) and South Carolina
(3.3 percent). Three states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2012:
New York (23.2 percent), Alaska (22.4 percent), and Hawaii (21.6 percent).

About half of the 14.4 million union members in the U.S. lived in just seven states
(California, 2.5 million; New York, 1.8 million; Illinois, 0.8 million; Pennsylvania,
0.7 million; and Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio, 0.6 million each), though these states
accounted for only about one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.

State union membership levels depend on both the state wage and salary employment level
and the union membership rate. Texas, with a union membership rate of 5.7 percent, had
about one-third as many union members as New York, despite having 2.7 million more
wage and salary employees. Conversely, North Carolina and Hawaii had comparable numbers
of union members (112,000 and 116,000, respectively), though North Carolina's wage and
salary employment level (3.8 million) was more than seven times that of Hawaii (537,000).

Technical Note

   The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS),
which provides the basic information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment.
The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census
Bureau from a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible house-
holds. The union membership and earnings data  are tabulated from one-quarter of the
CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers
are excluded.

   The Census Bureau introduces adjustments to the population controls for the CPS as
part of its annual update of population estimates. The effect of the revised population
controls on the union affiliation data is unknown. However, the effect of the new con-
trols on the monthly CPS estimates was to increase the December 2011 employment level
by 216,000. The updated controls had little or no effect on unemployment rates and
other ratios. Estimated levels, such as the number of union members for 2012, are not
strictly comparable with estimated levels for 2011. These adjustments to the levels,
however, should have had only negligible effects on union membership rates. Additional
information is available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When
a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the 
sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending upon the particular sample selected,
and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about
a  90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will
differ by no more than 1.6  standard errors from the "true" population value because
of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of
confidence. The state section of this release preserves the long-time practice of
highlighting the direction of the movements in state  union membership rates and
levels regardless of their statistical significance.

   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for
many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability
to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of
respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or
processing of the data.

   For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on
estimating standard errors, see the Household Data section of the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.

Definitions

   The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below.

   Union members. Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association
similar to a union.

   Represented by unions. Data refer to both union members and workers who report no
union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association
contract.

   Nonunion. Data refer to workers who are neither members of a union nor represented
by a union on their job.

   Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes and other deductions and
include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job in
the case of multiple jobholders). Prior to 1994, respondents were asked how much they
usually earned per week. Since January 1994, respondents have been asked to identify the
easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly,
annually, other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time period. Earnings
reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent. The term
"usual" is as perceived by the respondent. If the respondent asks for a definition of
usual, interviewers are instructed to define the term as more than half of the weeks
worked during the past 4 or 5 months.

   Median earnings. The median is the amount which divides a given earnings distribution
into two equal groups, one having earnings above the median and the other having earnings
below the median. The estimating procedure places each reported or calculated weekly
earnings value into $50-wide intervals which are centered around multiples of $50. The
actual value is estimated through the linear interpolation of the interval in which the
median lies.

   Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips,
payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and
public sectors. Union membership and earnings data exclude all self-employed workers,
both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses.

   Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole
or principal job.

   Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week at their
sole or principal job.

   Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Refers to persons who identified themselves in the
enumeration process as being Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino. Persons whose ethnicity is
identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.