Profile of a Union Member
This article describes the characteristics of a typical union member in the United States. It is my hope, that this article will provide the reader with a better understanding regarding who the average union member is in America today.
What are the characteristics of a typical union member in the United States?
First, American union members are more likely to work in the public sector than in the private sector. The membership rate in the public sector is five times that of the private sector.
From an occupation standpoint, the highest unionization rate was found in the education, training, and library occupations. 37.2% of the employees in these occupations are unionized. The next highest unionization rate was found among workers in protective service occupations. 35.2% of employees in these occupations are unionized.
Age is another important factor in identifying union members. Older workers are more likely to be union members than younger workers. 15.7% of wage and salary workers in the 45 to 54 age bracket are union members. 16.1% of workers in the 55-64 age bracket are union members. In contrast, only 4.8% of workers in the 16-24 age category are currently union members.
There is a sharp dichotomy between public and private sector employees. 35% of public sector employees belong to unions. In contrast, only 7.5% of private industry workers are unionized.
Within the public sector, local government workers had the highest unionization rate at 41.8%. Included among these workers are teachers, police officers, and fire fighters.
The industries in the private sector with high unionization rates include transportation and utilities (22.1%), telecommunications (19.7%), and construction (13.9%). According to 2007 data, unionization was low in agriculture and related industries (1.5%) and in financial activities (2.0%).
In regard to gender, unionization rates are higher for men than for women. 13% of men belong to unions while only 11.1% of women are unionized. Differences between men and women have narrowed since 1983 when the unionization rate for men was 10% higher than for women.
From a race and ethnicity standpoint, black workers were more likely to be union members (14.3%) than whites (11.8%), Asians (10.9%), or Hispanics (9.8%). 15.8% of black men are unionized as opposed to 9.6% of Hispanic women.
On a state basis, the largest number of union members live in California (2.5 million) and New York (2.1 million). Nearly half (7.8 million) of the 15.7 million union workers nationwide (2007 figures) live in six states (California, New York, Illinois .8 million; Michigan, .8 million; Pennsylvania .8 million; and New Jersey, .7 million).
The five states with the lowest union membership rates (below 5%) are North Carolina (3.0%), Virginia (3.7%), South Carolina (4.1%),. Georgia (4.4%), and Texas (4.7%).
Finally, on a percentage basis, the states with the highest membership rates are New York (25.2%), Alaska (23,8%), Hawaii (23.4%), and Washington (20.2%).
(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Union Members Summary,” released January 25, 2008)
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