U.S. union membership has steadily declined from a high of 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year for which comparable union. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2004 only 12.5 percent of working Americans were union members, down from 12.9 in 2003. In private employment it is only 7.9 percent and among government employees it is 36.4 percent.
Between 2003 and 2004 unions lost 304,000 members – 246,800 on private payrolls and 57,100 in government employment. Some highlights from the 2004 data are:
• Two occupational groups—education, training, and library occupations and protective service occupations—had the highest unionization rates in 2004, at about 37 percent each. Protective service occupations include fire fighters and police officers.
• Men were more likely to be union members than women.
• Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white, Asian, or Hispanic or Latino workers.
Thanks to Joe Hodnicki for the tip.