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Internet address: www.bls.gov/ro1/ For information: (617) 565-2327 Media contact: Walter Marshall (617) 565-2324 USDL-08-072 For release: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 UNION MEMBERSHIP IN MASSACHUSETTS, 2007 In 2007, the number of workers belonging to a union declined by 35,000 to 379,000 in Massachusetts, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Union members accounted for 13.2 percent of wage and salary workers in Massachusetts, down from 14.5 percent in 2006. Regional Commissioner Denis M. McSweeney noted that, although the State's 2007 union membership level was the lowest recorded in the 19 years of the data series, Massachusetts still ranked in the top quarter (12th) among all state levels nationwide. At the peak in 1990, the Commonwealth's union membership rate was 17.5 percent, or 479,000 workers. (See table A.) Nationally, the number of workers belonging to a union rose by 311,000 to nearly 15.7 million in 2007. Union members accounted for 12.1 percent of employed wage and salary workers, essentially unchanged from 12.0 percent in 2006. In 1983, the first year for which comparable national union data were available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent. Massachusetts was 1 of 20 states that had union membership rates above the U.S. average in 2007. In addition to Massachusetts' 379,000 wage and salary workers who were union members in 2007, another 23,000 workers were represented by a union on their main job or were covered by an employee association or contract while not being union members themselves. Nationwide, 1.6 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union on their main job but not union members themselves. In 2007, 30 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below the U.S. average of 12.1 percent, while 20 states had higher rates. (See table 1.) Relative to 2006, 27 states registered lower union membership rates in 2007, 20 states recorded higher membership rates, and 3 states and the District of Columbia had no changes in their rates. Three of the six New England states posted union membership rates higher than that of the nation. Joining Massachusetts with higher rates were Connecticut (15.6 percent) and Rhode Island (15.0 percent), all located in the southern New England region. The remaining three states -- Maine (11.7 percent), Vermont (10.4 percent), and New Hampshire (9.7 percent), all in the northern New England region -- posted rates below the national average. All states in the Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions reported union membership rates above the national average. In contrast, all states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions had rates below the U.S. average in 2007. (See chart 1.) Among the five states reporting union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2007, North Carolina posted the lowest rate (3.0 percent), followed by Virginia (3.7 percent), South Carolina (4.1 percent), Georgia (4.4 percent), and Texas (4.7 percent). Four states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2007--New York (25.2 percent), Alaska (23.8 percent), Hawaii (23.4 percent), and Washington (20.2 percent). Nearly half (7.8 million) of the 15.7 million union members in the United States lived in 6 states (California, 2.5 million; New York, 2.1 million; Illinois, 0.8 million; Michigan, 0.8 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; and New Jersey, 0.7 million), though these states accounted for only about one-third of wage and salary employment nationally. State union membership levels depend on both the employment levels and union membership rates. Massachusetts had about 20 percent fewer wage and salary workers than Virginia, yet had almost triple the number of union members. Conversely, Texas had less than one-quarter as many union members as New York despite having over 1.7 million more wage and salary employees. Technical Note The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides the basic information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau from a scientifically selected sample of about 60,000 households nationwide. The union membership data are tabulated from one-quarter of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded. The data in this release are annual averages. Union membership data, particularly levels, for each year are not strictly comparable with data for earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls used in the CPS. The effect of the revised population controls on the union membership estimates is unknown. However, as an example, the effect of the new controls for 2007 on the monthly CPS estimates for the U.S. would have been to increase the December 2006 employment level by 153,000 and the unemployment level by 10,000. The updated controls had little or no effect on unemployment rates and other ratios, such as union membership rates. For additional information, see "Adjustments to Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2007" in the February 2007 issue of Employment and Earnings, available on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps07adj.pdf. For personal assistance or further information on union membership, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the New England (Boston) Information Office at 617-565-2327 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. E.T. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 617-565-2072; TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf): Message Referral Phone: 1-800-877-8339. Reliability of the estimates Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending upon the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the Household Data section of the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf Definitions The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below. Union members. Members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. Represented by unions. Union members, as well as workers who have no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract. Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors, but, for the purposes of the union membership and earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state (Numbers in thousands)
Last Modified Date: March 18, 2008 |
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