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 FOR RELEASE:
March 6, 2009

 

UNION MEMBERSHIP IN 2008

Membership Rate in Colorado was 8.0 Percent

In 2008, the number of workers in Colorado belonging to a union was 181,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that union members accounted for 8.0 percent of wage and salary workers in Colorado in 2008, compared with the 8.7 percent posted in 2007. At its peak in 1990, the union membership rate for the State was 10.5 percent. (See chart A.)

Nationally, the number of workers belonging to a union rose by 428,000 to 16,098,000 in 2008. Union members accounted for 12.4 percent of employed wage and salary workers, up from 12.1 percent in 2007. In 1983, the first year for which comparable national union data were available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent. Since 1989, when state data were first available for comparison, Colorado's union membership rate has been below the U.S. average every year.

Chart A. Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and Colorado, 1989-2008

Members of unions as a percent of employed in the United States and Colorado

In addition to Colorado's 181,000 wage and salary workers who were union members in 2008, another 27,000 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, about 16.1 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2008 and about 1.7 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union on their main job but not union members themselves.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in Colorado, annual averages, 1989-2008 (Numbers in thousands)
Year Total employed Members of unions(1) Represented by unions(2)
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed

1989

 1,395 129 9.3 158 11.3

1990

 1,473 154 10.5 177 12.0

1991

 1,480 145 9.8 174 11.7

1992

 1,478 150 10.2 177 11.9

1993

 1,559 153 9.8 178 11.4

1994

 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

1995

 1,725 170 9.9 208 12.0

1996

 1,722 167 9.7 185 10.8

1997

 1,814 174 9.6 201 11.1

1998

 1,887 171 9.1 189 10.0

1999

 1,927 181 9.4 199 10.4

2000

 1,984 187 9.4 209 10.6

2001

 2,000 179 8.9 207 10.3

2002

 1,996 157 7.9 180 9.0

2003

 2,007 156 7.8 180 9.0

2004

 2,050 172 8.4 191 9.3

2005

 2,052 170 8.3 193 9.4

2006

 2,154 165 7.7 186 8.6

2007

 2,204 191 8.7 202 9.2

2008

 2,254 181 8.0 208 9.2

Footnotes:
(1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
(2) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union, as well as workers who are not members but whose jobs are covered by a union or employee association contract.

n/a - Not available.

In 2008, 29 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 12.4 percent, while 20 states had higher rates and 1 state had the same rate. (See table 1.) Union membership rates rose over the year in 26 states and the District of Columbia, declined in 20 states (including Colorado), and were unchanged in 4 states.

Six states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2008, with North Carolina having the lowest rate (3.5 percent). The next lowest rates were recorded in Georgia (3.7 percent), South Carolina (3.9 percent), Virginia (4.1 percent), Texas (4.5 percent), and Louisiana (4.6 percent). (See chart 1.) Three states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent-New York (24.9 percent), Hawaii (24.3 percent), and Alaska (23.5 percent).

Colorado is one of eight states in the Mountain division; in this geographic grouping, only Nevada (16.7 percent) posted a union membership rate above the national average. In the East North Central, Middle Atlantic, and the Pacific divisions, all of the states reported union membership rates at or above that for the United States. In contrast, all states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions had union membership rates that were below the national average.

About half (8.0 million) of the 16.1 million union members in the United States lived in just 6 states (California, 2.7 million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 0.9 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; Michigan, 0.8 million; and Ohio, 0.7 million), though these states accounted for only one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.

State union membership levels depend on both the employment level and union membership rate. For example, Colorado and Alabama had the same number of union members (181,000) even though Colorado had nearly 400,000 more wage and salary workers. Similarly, North Carolina and Hawaii had a comparable number of union members (132,000 and 136,000, respectively), even though North Carolina's wage and salary employment level was almost seven times that of Hawaii.

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 in the U.S. 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.

Union membership data, particularly for levels, are not strictly comparable with data for earlier years because of the introduction of updated population controls used in the CPS. The effect of the revised population controls on the union membership estimates is unknown. These updated controls had little or no effect on unemployment rates and other ratios, such as union membership rates. For technical documentation and related information, including reliability of the CPS estimates, see www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.

For personal assistance or further information on union membership, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Kansas City Information Office at 816-285-7000 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

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, 2007-2008 (Numbers in thousands)
State 2007 2008
Total employed Members of unions(1) Represented by unions(2) Total employed Members of unions(1) Represented by unions(2)
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed

Alabama

 1,895 180 9.5 201 10.6 1,858 181 9.8 199 10.7

Alaska

 284 68 23.8 70 24.7 289 68 23.5 71 24.7

Arizona

 2,619 230 8.8 255 9.7 2,579 227 8.8 254 9.8

Arkansas

 1,154 62 5.4 75 6.5 1,158 68 5.9 85 7.3

California

 14,856 2,474 16.7 2,650 17.8 14,889 2,740 18.4 2,909 19.5

Colorado

 2,204 191 8.7 202 9.2 2,254 181 8.0 208 9.2

Connecticut

 1,617 253 15.6 269 16.6 1,625 275 16.9 291 17.9

Delaware

 396 47 12.0 50 12.8 391 52 13.4 57 14.7

District of Columbia

 278 29 10.3 38 13.6 288 35 12.2 41 14.3

Florida

 7,741 455 5.9 562 7.3 7,573 482 6.4 601 7.9

Georgia

 4,181 186 4.4 226 5.4 4,084 151 3.7 189 4.6

Hawaii

 556 130 23.4 135 24.2 562 136 24.3 143 25.5

Idaho

 635 33 5.3 41 6.4 602 42 7.1 48 8.0

Illinois

 5,802 842 14.5 884 15.2 5,662 939 16.6 993 17.5

Indiana

 2,779 333 12.0 359 12.9 2,811 349 12.4 386 13.7

Iowa

 1,417 149 10.5 185 13.1 1,437 153 10.6 187 13.0

Kansas

 1,274 89 7.0 110 8.7 1,273 89 7.0 111 8.7

Kentucky

 1,734 157 9.1 192 11.1 1,703 146 8.6 163 9.6

Louisiana

 1,670 94 5.6 108 6.5 1,724 80 4.6 97 5.6

Maine

 574 67 11.7 79 13.8 574 71 12.3 84 14.7

Maryland

 2,598 335 12.9 376 14.5 2,610 329 12.6 380 14.5

Massachusetts

 2,882 379 13.2 402 14.0 2,909 458 15.7 491 16.9

Michigan

 4,193 819 19.5 865 20.6 4,089 771 18.8 801 19.6

Minnesota

 2,460 400 16.3 419 17.0 2,430 392 16.1 412 17.0

Mississippi

 1,068 72 6.7 95 8.9 1,089 57 5.3 79 7.3

Missouri

 2,585 275 10.7 308 11.9 2,543 285 11.2 327 12.8

Montana

 399 54 13.5 62 15.6 389 47 12.2 61 15.7

Nebraska

 836 65 7.8 81 9.7 840 70 8.3 90 10.7

Nevada

 1,177 182 15.4 208 17.7 1,192 199 16.7 217 18.2

New Hampshire

 631 61 9.7 70 11.2 635 67 10.6 79 12.4

New Jersey

 3,897 748 19.2 802 20.6 3,843 703 18.3 731 19.0

New Mexico

 800 62 7.7 91 11.4 807 58 7.2 94 11.6

New York

 8,150 2,055 25.2 2,146 26.3 8,165 2,029 24.9 2,170 26.6

North Carolina

 3,771 114 3.0 147 3.9 3,799 132 3.5 189 5.0

North Dakota

 303 19 6.4 23 7.6 308 19 6.1 25 8.2

Ohio

 5,187 730 14.1 797 15.4 5,046 716 14.2 783 15.5

Oklahoma

 1,456 103 7.1 124 8.5 1,529 102 6.6 127 8.3

Oregon

 1,582 227 14.3 243 15.4 1,566 259 16.6 272 17.4

Pennsylvania

 5,496 830 15.1 910 16.6 5,504 847 15.4 899 16.3

Rhode Island

 497 75 15.0 78 15.8 471 78 16.5 82 17.4

South Carolina

 1,873 78 4.1 111 5.9 1,792 70 3.9 105 5.8

South Dakota

 354 23 6.5 27 7.7 369 18 5.0 24 6.4

Tennessee

 2,596 138 5.3 166 6.4 2,534 139 5.5 166 6.6

Texas

 9,899 463 4.7 566 5.7 9,991 449 4.5 559 5.6

Utah

 1,153 67 5.8 78 6.8 1,178 68 5.8 84 7.1

Vermont

 288 30 10.4 35 12.2 284 29 10.4 36 12.8

Virginia

 3,502 129 3.7 167 4.8 3,597 146 4.1 178 5.0

Washington

 2,874 579 20.2 616 21.4 2,912 578 19.8 626 21.5

West Virginia

 724 97 13.3 107 14.7 736 101 13.8 112 15.3

Wisconsin

 2,631 376 14.3 405 15.4 2,642 396 15.0 422 16.0

Wyoming

 239 19 7.9 22 9.4 241 19 7.7 21 8.9

Footnotes:
(1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
(2) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association.

NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Updated population controls are introduced annually wit
Chart 1.  Union membership rates by state, 2008 annual averages

(U.S. rate = 12.4 percent)

Chart 1. Union membership rates by state, 2008 annual averages

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Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number (Federal Relay Service): 1-800-877-8339.
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Last Modified Date: March 6, 2009