Union affiliation by U.S. state

Last updated January 28, 2024

**Union affiliation by U.S. state (2023)**^[1]^[2]
Rank	State	Percent union members	Percent change	Union members	Percent represented by unions	Percent change	Represented by unions	Total employed	Right to Work
1	Hawaii	23.4	2.2%	138,000	25.6	2.2%	147,000	573,000	No
2	New York	20.6	0.1%	1,711,000	21.5	0.6%	1,787,000	8,300,000	No
3	Washington	16.5	1.5%	576,000	18.1	1.0%	632,000	3,491,000	No
4	New Jersey	16.1	1.2%	679,000	17.3	1.3%	729,000	4,211,000	No
5	Connecticut	15.9	1.7%	255,000	16.9	1.5%	272,000	1,610,000	No
6	California	15.4	0.7%	2,514,000	16.9	0.7%	2,769,000	16,349,000	No
7	Alaska	14.8	1.2%	45,000	15.2	2.1%	47,000	307,000	No
8	Vermont	14.3	2.2%	43,000	13.4	2.0%	46,000	301,000	No
9	Oregon	14.1	1.4%	255,000	15.0	1.9%	270,000	1,808,000	No
10	Minnesota	13.3	0.9%	356,000	14.1	1.1%	378,000	2,673,000	No
11	Pennsylvania	12.9	0.2%	749,000	13.6	0.6%	822,000	5,786,000	No
12	Michigan	12.8	1.2%	564,000	14.1	1.2%	623,000	4,409,000	No
13	Illinois	12.8	0.3%	708,000	13.6	0.5%	755,000	5,537,000	No
14	Massachusetts	12.6	0.1%	412,000	13.6	0.2%	443,000	3,267,000	No
15	Ohio	12.5	0.3%	641,000	13.5	0.5%	691,000	5,108,000	No
16	Nevada	12.4	1.1%	171,000	14.5	1.7%	201,000	1,382,000	Yes
17	Rhode Island	12.3	3.8%	62,000	13.2	4.5%	67,000	507,000	No
18	Montana	11.8	0.6%	56,000	13.0	0.7%	61,000	470,000	No
19	Maryland	10.7	0.9%	302,000	12.8	0.4%	362,000	2,822,000	No
20	Missouri	9.3	0.3%	255,000	10.6	0.2%	286,000	2,734,000	No
21	New Hampshire	9.3	0.8%	62,000	10.9	0.3%	73,000	668,000	No
22	Maine	9.2		52,000	10.8	0.7%	61,000	566,000	No
23	District of Columbia	9.1		32,000	10.4		36,000	347,000	No
24	Kansas	8.9	0.9%	120,000	10.6	1.5%	144,000	1,360,000	Yes
25	Kentucky	8.8	0.9%	152,000	11.3	1.0%	194,000	1,719,000	Yes
26	Delaware	8.8	0.3%	38,000	10.1	0.7%	44,000	436,000	No
27	West Virginia	8.7	0.5%	60,000	10.1	0.1%	70,000	691,000	Yes
28	Indiana	8.0	0.6%	245,000	9.1	0.5%	278,000	3,054,000	Yes
29	Alabama	7.5	0.3%	156,000	8.6	0.2%	180,000	2,088,000	Yes
30	New Mexico	7.5	1.3%	60,000	9.1	1.5%	73,000	805,000	No
31	Wisconsin	7.4	0.3%	205,000	8.4	0.4%	232,000	2,761,000	Yes
32	Nebraska	7.3	0.8%	68,000	9.4	1.3%	88,000	940,000	Yes
33	Iowa	7.2	0.2%	107,000	8.8	0.1%	131,000	1,490,000	Yes
34	Mississippi	7.0	1.4%	75,000	9.8	2.6%	106,000	1,081,000	Yes
35	Colorado	6.9	0.2%	189,000	8.6	1.1%	235,000	2,730,000	No
36	Oklahoma	6.8	1.3%	115,000	7.7	0.7%	132,000	1,705,000	Yes
37	North Dakota	6.2	0.2%	22,000	7.5	0.1%	27,000	359,000	Yes
38	Tennessee	6.0	0.5%	178,000	6.9	0.6%	205,000	2,981,000	Yes
39	Wyoming	5.6		14,000	6.6	0.7%	17,000	256,000	Yes
40	Arkansas	5.1	0.2%	62,000	5.8	0.1%	71,000	1,217,000	Yes
41	Florida	4.7	0.2%	442,000	6.1	0.5%	578,000	9,453,000	Yes
42	Georgia	4.6	0.2%	211,000	5.4		250,000	4,626,000	Yes
43	Idaho	4.5	0.2%	37,000	5.5	0.4%	44,000	810,000	Yes
44	Texas	4.5	0.4%	586,000	5.4	0.3%	701,000	13,019,000	Yes
45	Louisiana	4.3	0.1%	76,000	5.2		91,000	1,765,000	Yes
48	Virginia	4.3	0.6%	176,000	5.6	1.1%	226,000	4,042,000	Yes
47	Arizona	4.2	1.3%	133,000	4.8	1.4%	152,000	3,164,000	Yes
48	Utah	4.1	0.2%	65,000	8.4	0.3%	134,000	1,584,000	Yes
49	South Dakota	3.6	0.5%	15,000	4.2		18,000	425,000	Yes
50	North Carolina	2.7	0.1%	125,000	3.3	0.6%	152,000	4,623,000	Yes
51	South Carolina	2.3	0.6%	49,000	3.0	1.0%	63,000	2,130,000	Yes
—	United States	10.0	0.1%	14,424,000	11.2	0.1%	16,193,000	144,541,000	N/A

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFL-CIO</span> Federation of American trade unions

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 60 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers. The AFL-CIO engages in substantial political spending and activism, typically in support of progressive and pro-labor policies.

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The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors. The union has 27 locals in Canada via CWA-SCA Canada representing about 8,000 members. CWA has several affiliated subsidiary labor unions bringing total membership to over 700,000. CWA is headquartered in Washington, DC, and affiliated with the AFL–CIO, the Strategic Organizing Center, the Canadian Labour Congress, and UNI Global Union.

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Collective agreement coverage or union representation refers to the proportion of people in a country population whose terms and conditions at work are made by collective bargaining, between an employer and a trade union, rather than by individual contracts. This is invariably higher than the union membership rate, because collective agreements almost always protect non-members in a unionised workplace. This means that, rather than individuals who have weaker bargaining power representing themselves in negotiations, people organise to represent each other together when negotiating for better pay and conditions in their workplace. The number of people who are covered by collective agreements is higher than the number of union members, and in many cases substantially higher, because when trade unions make collective agreements they aim to cover everyone at work, even those who have not necessarily joined for membership.

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Barry T. Hirsch is an American economist and the W.J. Usery Chair of the American Workplace at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies of Georgia State University. Hirsch is one of the leading economists on the subject of industrial relations in the United States.

Trade unions have historically been unrecognized by IBM. Since the company's foundation in 1911, it has not recognized any in the United States, despite efforts by workers to establish them from 1970 onward. In Australia, Germany and Italy, several trade unions have limited recognition from IBM. IBM has been able to minimize membership even in traditional union strongholds in Western Europe.

References

↑ Bureau of Labor Statistics (January 23, 2024). "Union members in 2021". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor.
↑ "Union Members Summary - 2023 A01 Results". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

External links

Hirsch, Barry T.; Macpherson, David (2016). "Union Membership and Coverage Database". Unionstats.com.
- Hirsch, Barry T.; Macpherson, David A.; Vroman, Wayne G. (2016). "Union Density Estimates by State, 1964–2015". Atlanta: Georgia State University.
  - State Union Membership Density, 1964–2008 (Excel file)
  - State Union Coverage Density, 1977–2008 (Excel file)

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[1] Bureau of Labor Statistics (January 23, 2024). "Union members in 2021". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor.

[2] "Union Members Summary - 2023 A01 Results". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

[1]

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Union affiliation by U.S. state

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References

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