Midwest Information Office

For release: Friday, February 25, 2011
BLSInfoChicago@bls.gov
General Information: (312) 353-1880
Media Contact: (312) 353-1138

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UNION MEMBERSHIP IN MICHIGAN - 2010

In 2010, the number of workers belonging to a union in Michigan was 627,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that union members accounted for 16.5 percent of wage and salary workers in Michigan in 2010, compared to 18.8 percent in 2009. At its peak in 1989, the first year state data were available, Michigan’s union membership rate was 26.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.)

Nationally, the number of workers belonging to a union fell by 612,000 to 14,715,000 in 2010. Union members accounted for 11.9 percent of employed wage and salary workers, down from 12.3 percent a year earlier. In 1983, the first year for which comparable national union data were available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent. Since 1989, when comparable state data became available, Michigan has had union membership rates above the U.S. average.

In addition to Michigan's 627,000 wage and salary workers who were union members in 2010, another 32,000 wage and salary workers were represented by a union on their main job or were covered by an employee association or contract while not being union members themselves. (See table A.) Nationwide, about 14.7 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2010 and about 1.6 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union on their main job but not union members themselves.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in Michigan annual averages, 1989-2010 (Numbers in thousands)

Year	Total employed	Members of unions (1)		Represented by unions (2)
		Total	Percent of employed	Total	Percent of employed
1989	3,896	1,013	26.0	1,082	27.8
1990	3,852	974	25.3	1,039	27.0
1991	3,766	927	24.6	981	26.1
1992	3,837	977	25.5	1,031	26.9
1993	3,966	968	24.4	1,022	25.8
1994	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1995	4,001	947	23.7	1,006	25.1
1996	4,106	983	24.0	1,042	25.4
1997	4,190	969	23.1	1,024	24.4
1998	4,409	954	21.6	996	22.6
1999	4,490	963	21.5	1,009	22.5
2000	4,502	914	20.3	964	21.4
2001	4,479	947	21.2	989	22.1
2002	4,335	911	21.0	947	21.8
2003	4,188	919	21.9	968	23.1
2004	4,305	930	21.6	966	22.4
2005	4,288	880	20.5	916	21.4
2006	4,299	842	19.6	879	20.4
2007	4,193	819	19.5	865	20.6
2008	4,089	771	18.8	801	19.6
2009	3,785	710	18.8	752	19.9
2010	3,806	627	16.5	659	17.3
Footnotes: (1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. (2) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union, as well as workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
n/a - Not available NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-and part-time wage and salary workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

In 2010, 31 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 11.9 percent, while 19 states had higher rates. (See table 1.) 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. (See chart 2.) Union membership rates declined over the year in 33 states (including Michigan) and the District of Columbia and rose in 17 states. 

Eight states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2010, with North Carolina having the lowest rate (3.2 percent). The next lowest rates were recorded in Arkansas and Georgia (4.0 percent each), Louisiana (4.3 percent), Mississippi (4.5 percent), South Carolina and Virginia (4.6 percent each), and Tennessee (4.7 percent). Six states had union membership rates over 17.0 percent in 2010: New York (24.2 percent), Alaska (22.9 percent), Hawaii (21.8 percent), Washington (19.4 percent), California (17.5 percent) and New Jersey (17.1 percent).

State union membership levels depend on both the employment level and union membership rate. The largest numbers of union members lived in California (2.4 million) and New York (2.0 million). About half of the 14.7 million union members in the U.S. lived in just six states (California, 2.4 million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 0.8 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; Ohio, 0.7 million; and New Jersey, 0.6 million), though these states accounted for only one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.

Texas had about one-fourth as many union members as New York, despite having 1.9 million more wage and salary employees. Similarly, North Carolina and Hawaii had comparable numbers of union members (117,000 and 111,000, respectively), though North Carolina's wage and salary employment level (3.7 million) was about seven times that of Hawaii (511,000).

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 households. 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.

Union membership data, particularly for levels, are not strictly comparable with data for earlier years because of the introduction of updated population controls used in the CPS. For technical documentation and related information, including reliability of the CPS estimates, see www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.  

For personal assistance or further information on union membership, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Midwest Information Office at (312) 353-1880 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.  Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

Definitions

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

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

Represented by unions.  Union members, as well as workers who have no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

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, but, for the purposes of the union membership and earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state (numbers in thousands)

State	2009					2010
	Total employed	Members of unions(1)		Represented by unions(2)		Total employed	Members of unions(1)		Represented by unions(2)
		Total	Percent of employed	Total	Percent of employed		Total	Percent of employed	Total	Percent of employed
Alabama	1,763	191	10.9	212	12.0	1,809	183	10.1	203	11.2
Alaska	293	65	22.3	69	23.6	295	68	22.9	73	24.8
Arizona	2,471	162	6.5	194	7.9	2,507	161	6.4	203	8.1
Arkansas	1,103	47	4.2	55	5.0	1,082	44	4.0	59	5.4
California	14,297	2,453	17.2	2,622	18.3	13,892	2,431	17.5	2,578	18.6
Colorado	2,175	153	7.0	181	8.3	2,130	140	6.6	171	8.0
Connecticut	1,538	265	17.3	282	18.4	1,549	258	16.7	270	17.4
Delaware	367	44	11.9	47	12.8	352	40	11.4	44	12.5
District of Columbia	276	29	10.4	35	12.5	287	26	9.0	30	10.5
Florida	7,097	411	5.8	489	6.9	7,033	392	5.6	488	6.9
Georgia	3,869	177	4.6	226	5.9	3,792	153	4.0	191	5.0
Hawaii	526	123	23.5	128	24.3	511	111	21.8	120	23.5
Idaho	577	36	6.3	46	7.9	584	42	7.1	50	8.6
Illinois	5,435	951	17.5	997	18.3	5,434	844	15.5	891	16.4
Indiana	2,612	277	10.6	319	12.2	2,554	279	10.9	313	12.2
Iowa	1,398	156	11.1	185	13.3	1,393	158	11.4	192	13.8
Kansas	1,249	77	6.2	104	8.4	1,222	84	6.8	111	9.1
Kentucky	1,657	142	8.6	173	10.5	1,642	147	8.9	166	10.1
Louisiana	1,704	99	5.8	110	6.5	1,742	76	4.3	96	5.5
Maine	543	63	11.7	74	13.7	543	63	11.6	71	13.0
Maryland	2,555	323	12.6	366	14.3	2,558	296	11.6	329	12.9
Massachusetts	2,864	476	16.6	516	18.0	2,866	415	14.5	446	15.6
Michigan	3,785	710	18.8	752	19.9	3,806	627	16.5	659	17.3
Minnesota	2,400	362	15.1	377	15.7	2,468	385	15.6	397	16.1
Mississippi	1,029	49	4.8	66	6.4	1,037	46	4.5	58	5.6
Missouri	2,481	234	9.4	264	10.6	2,469	244	9.9	274	11.1
Montana	374	52	13.9	68	18.1	364	46	12.7	52	14.4
Nebraska	823	76	9.2	94	11.4	813	75	9.3	96	11.8
Nevada	1,097	173	15.7	188	17.2	1,012	151	15.0	170	16.8
New Hampshire	616	67	10.8	76	12.3	622	63	10.2	73	11.7
New Jersey	3,734	721	19.3	742	19.9	3,734	637	17.1	660	17.7
New Mexico	759	51	6.7	77	10.2	750	55	7.3	72	9.7
New York	8,021	2,019	25.2	2,182	27.2	8,078	1,959	24.2	2,099	26.0
North Carolina	3,707	115	3.1	162	4.4	3,686	117	3.2	180	4.9
North Dakota	301	21	6.8	30	9.8	313	23	7.4	28	9.1
Ohio	4,827	685	14.2	742	15.4	4,787	655	13.7	702	14.7
Oklahoma	1,456	83	5.7	107	7.3	1,418	77	5.5	99	6.9
Oregon	1,471	250	17.0	272	18.5	1,515	245	16.2	268	17.7
Pennsylvania	5,220	782	15.0	844	16.2	5,224	770	14.7	831	15.9
Rhode Island	444	80	17.9	83	18.7	456	75	16.4	79	17.4
South Carolina	1,672	75	4.5	91	5.4	1,713	80	4.6	107	6.2
South Dakota	357	20	5.5	24	6.6	357	20	5.6	24	6.6
Tennessee	2,387	121	5.1	156	6.6	2,477	115	4.7	142	5.8
Texas	9,920	508	5.1	615	6.2	10,025	545	5.4	677	6.7
Utah	1,136	79	6.9	90	8.0	1,144	75	6.5	96	8.4
Vermont	285	35	12.3	40	14.1	289	34	11.8	40	13.6
Virginia	3,503	166	4.7	191	5.4	3,473	161	4.6	196	5.7
Washington	2,847	574	20.2	612	21.5	2,837	552	19.4	605	21.3
West Virginia	699	97	13.9	108	15.4	677	100	14.8	111	16.5
Wisconsin	2,528	385	15.2	400	15.8	2,508	355	14.2	380	15.1
Wyoming	239	18	7.7	20	8.3	246	18	7.4	21	8.4
Footnotes (1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. (2) 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.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

 

 

 

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Last Modified Date: February 25, 2011