Some Unexpected States on Union Membership Loss List

Mike Antonucci:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides invaluable statistics on union membership each year, but doesn't disaggregate data by occupation and state. So all we have for individual states are total membership figures for all unions. Still, with public sector unions making up the majority of union membership in the U.S., we can get a reasonable picture of where NEA and AFT might be taking the biggest beatings. Some states on this list are obvious, while others are a surprise.

Rather than examine unionization rates, or market share based on the size of the entire workforce, I chose to look at raw totals. After all, a union could decline in total share, but as long as it gained members, it means more money in the till. Members lost equals money lost, and 20 states had fewer union members in 2011 than they had in 2010. I've ranked them according to percentage of membership lost:

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 11, 2012 1:11 AM
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