Last year saw historic deals reached by UAW, Teamsters, Hollywood writers and actors, and more
The share of workers in unions hit fresh record lows last year, decreasing to 10.0% from 2022’s record-low of 10.1%, said the Labor Department yesterday.
The low membership rate happened despite 2023 witnessing headline-grabbing strikes from the Hollywood writers and actors union, and historic deals reached between UAW and automakers.
How?
The fall in union membership rate was influenced by the 2.7 million jobs added to the labor market last year, where nonunion jobs outpaced union ones.
- Private-sector union membership rate remained at a record-low 6%.
- Government workers’ union membership declined to 32.5%, a historic low from 33.1% in 2022.
The difficulties in joining unions, along with labor laws favoring employers, were also obstacles.
Notably, the total number of union members increased by 139,000 to 14.4 million last year.
Support for labor unions also rose, with a recent Gallup poll showing 67% of Americans siding with unions.