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BLS 11-27
FOR RELEASE:
Thursday, March 24, 2011

UNION MEMBERSHIP IN CALIFORNIA- 2010

In 2010, the number of workers belonging to a union was 2,431,000 in California, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that union members accounted for 17.5 percent of wage and salary workers in California in 2010, compared with 17.2 percent reported in 2009.

Nationally, the number of workers belonging to a union declined 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 union data were available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent. Since 1990, California has had union membership rates above the U.S. average. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and California, 1990-2010

Chart 1. Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and California, 1990-2010

In addition to California’s 2,431,000 wage and salary workers who were union members in 2010, another 147,000 workers were represented by a union in their main job or were covered by an employee association 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 in their main job but not union members themselves.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in California, annual averages, 1990-2010 (Numbers in thousands)
Year Total Members of unions(1) Represented by unions (2)
employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed

1990

 12,526 2,268 18.1 2,624 21.0

1991

 12,116 2,185 18.0 2,503 20.7

1992

 12,077 2,169 18.0 2,520 20.9

1993

 12,018 2,139 17.8 2,415 20.1

1994

 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

1995

 12,320 2,176 17.7 2,463 20.0

1996

 12,461 2,061 16.5 2,340 18.8

1997

 12,878 2,067 16.0 2,321 18.0

1998

 13,338 2,154 16.1 2,408 18.1

1999

 13,811 2,286 16.6 2,527 18.3

2000

 14,148 2,195 15.5 2,466 17.4

2001

 14,188 2,287 16.1 2,515 17.7

2002

 13,955 2,444 17.5 2,619 18.8

2003

 14,350 2,414 16.8 2,647 18.4

2004

 14,414 2,385 16.5 2,588 18.0

2005

 14,687 2,424 16.5 2,610 17.8

2006

 14,501 2,273 15.7 2,444 16.9

2007

 14,856 2,474 16.7 2,650 17.8

2008

 14,889 2,740 18.4 2,909 19.5

2009

 14,297 2,453 17.2 2,622 18.3

2010

 13,892 2,431 17.5 2,578 18.6

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 are not members but whose jobs are covered by a union or employee association contract.

n/a - Not available.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-and part-time workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

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. In contrast, all states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions had rates below that for the nation. (See chart 2.) Union membership rates declined over the year in 33 states 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. About half of the 14.7 million union members in the U.S. lived in just 6 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 7 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 Mountain-Plains Information Office at 816-285-7000 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT. 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.
 

 

Chart 2. Union membership rates by state, 2010 annual averages.

 

Last Modified Date: March 24, 2011