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Labor unions in the United States

Labor unions represent United States workers in many industries recognized under US labor law since the 1935 enactment of the National Labor Relations Act. Their activity today centers on collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions for their membership, and on representing their members in disputes with management over violations of contract provisions. Larger labor unions also typically engage in lobbying activities and electioneering at the state and federal level.

National organization(s)

14.3 million (2022)[1]

10.1% (2022)

Not ratified

Not ratified

Most unions in the United States are aligned with one of two larger umbrella organizations: the AFL–CIO created in 1955, and the Change to Win Federation (current Strategic Organizing Center) (SOC) which split from the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) in 2005. Both advocate policies and legislation on behalf of workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in politics. The AFL–CIO is especially concerned with global trade issues.


The percentage of workers belonging to a union (or total labor union "density") varies by country. In 2022 it was 10.1% in the United States, compared to 20.1% in 1983.[2][3] There were 14.3 million members in the U.S. in 2022, down from 17.7 million in 1983.[2][3] Union membership in the private sector has fallen to 6.0%, one fifth that of public sector workers, at 33.1% (2022).[2][3] From a global perspective, in 2016 the US had the fifth lowest labor union density of the 36 OECD member nations.[4][5]


In the 21st century, the most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as city employees, government workers, teachers and police. Members of unions are disproportionately older, male, and residents of the Northeast, the Midwest, and California.[6] There is a substantial wage gap between union and nonunion workers in the U.S.; unionized workers average higher pay than comparable nonunion workers (when controlling for individual, job, and labor market characteristics); research shows that the union wage gaps are higher in the private sector than in the public sector, and higher for men than women.[7] Private-sector union strength positively affects the wages of nonunion private-sector wages" (when controlling for background conditions, such as industry, the automation risk, offshoring, public-sector union strength, overall employment levels, and other factors); this is called the union spillover effect.[8]


Although much smaller compared to their peak membership in the 1950s, American unions remain a political factor, both through mobilization of their own memberships and through coalitions with like-minded activist organizations around issues such as immigrant rights, environmental protections, trade policy, health care, and living wage campaigns.[9] Of special concern are efforts by cities and states to reduce the pension obligations owed to unionized workers who retire in the future.[10] A study of U.S. elections from 1964 to 2004 found that unions increase voter turnout of both members and nonmembers.[11] Labor unions have a longstanding alliance with the Democratic Party, and union members make up an important part of the party's base.[12] By contrast, the Republican Party has opposed unions and championed various anti-union policies, such as the adoption of right-to-work laws, restrictions on public-sector union collective bargaining, the repeal of prevailing wage laws, and preemption of local minimum wage laws.[13][14]


There is substantial evidence that labor unions reduce economic inequality.[15][16] Research suggests that rising income inequality in the United States is partially attributable to the decline of the labor movement and union membership,[17][18][19]: 1 and that this is not only a correlation.[20] Research has also found that unions can harm profitability, employment and business growth rates.[21][22]

When asked if they supported the labor unions or the governors in state disputes; 48% said they supported the unions, 39% said the governors, 4% said neither, and 9% had no opinion.

Women supported the governors much less than men. 45% of men said they supported the governors, while 46% said they supported the unions. This compares to only 33% of women who said they supported the governors and 50% who said they supported the unions.

All areas of the US (East, Midwest, South, West) were more likely to support unions than the governors. The largest gap being in the East with 35% supporting the governors and 52% supporting the unions, and the smallest gap being in the West with 41% supporting the governors and 44% the unions.

18- to 34-year-olds were much more likely to support unions than those over 34 years of age. Only 27% of 18- to 34-year-olds supported the governors, while 61% supported the unions. Americans ages 35 to 54 slightly supported the unions more than governors, with 40% supporting the governors and 43% the unions. Americans 55 and older were tied when asked, with 45% supporting the governors and 45% the unions.

Republicans were much more likely to support the governors when asked with 65% supporting the governors and 25% the unions. Independents slightly supported unions more, with 40% supporting the governors and 45% the unions. Democrats were overwhelmingly in support of the unions. 70% of Democrats supported the unions, while only 19% supported the governors.

Those who said they were following the situation not too closely or not at all supported the unions over governors, with a 14–point (45% to 31%) margin. Those who said they were following the situation somewhat closely supported the unions over governors by a 52–41 margin. Those who said that they were following the situation very closely were only slightly more likely to support the unions over the governors, with a 49–48 margin.

Impact and criticism[edit]

A 2018 study in the Economic History Review found that the rise of labor unions in the 1930s and 1940s was associated with a reduction in income inequality.[114] A 2020 study found that congressional representatives were more responsive to the interests of the poor in districts with higher unionization rates.[115] Another 2020 study found an association between state level adoption of parental leave legislation and labor union strength.[116] A 2021 study in the ILR Review found that state union density was associated with a reduction in poverty in both unionized and non-unionized households.[117]


According to sociologist Matthew Desmond of Princeton University, the power of labor unions in the post-war era till the late 1970s played a significant role in ensuring that an expanding US economy "shared its bounty" with the working class and mitigated labor exploitation, making it a time when "honest work delivered a solid paycheck." He acknowledges, however, that racism, attacks from corporate lobbyists who "made deep inroads to both parties," and a changing economy weakened unions and "prevented the labor movement from ever realizing its full potential."[118]


The Hoover Institution think tank has asserted that the economic inequality argument made in favor of labor unions "misfires on several fronts. Those high union wages could not survive in the face of foreign competition or new nonunionized firms. The only way a union can provide gains for its members is to extract some fraction of the profits that firms enjoy when they hold monopoly positions." The think tank has also asserted that the decline of labor unions in the United States "cannot drive widespread inequality for the entire population, which is also affected by a rise in the knowledge economy as well as a general aging of the population."[119]


A 2020 study in the American Journal of Political Science suggested that when white people obtain union membership, they become less racially resentful.[120] Higher union density has been associated with lower suicide/overdose deaths.[121] Decreased unionization rates in the United States have been linked to an increase in occupational fatalities.[122]


Other research has found that unions can harm profitability, employment and business growth rates.[21][22] The outsourcing of labor from the United States to Asia, Latin America, and Africa has been partially driven by increasing costs of union partnership, which gives other countries a comparative advantage in labor, making it more efficient to perform labor-intensive work there.[123]


The weakening of unions has been linked to more favorable electoral outcomes for the Republican Party.[124][125][126] However, Republican-controlled states are less likely to adopt more restrictive labor policies when unions are strong in the state.[127]

United States labor law

Labor federation competition in the United States

Immigration policies of American labor unions

Union affiliation by U.S. state

Starbucks unions

Public-sector trade unions in the United States

Police unions in the United States

History:


International:


General:

(1937). American City: A Rank-and-file History. Farrar & Rinehart. OCLC 480952.

Walker, Charles Rumford

of the AFL–CIO, the largest federation of trade unions in the U.S.

Official website

of the Strategic Organizing Center (formerly the Change to Win Federation), the second-largest federation of trade unions in the U.S.

Official website

- The New York Times interactive (2022)

The U.S. Labor Movement Is Popular, Prominent and Also Shrinking