More non-union workers want unions
| 1977 (Quinn and Staines 1979) | 1995 (Freeman and Rogers 1999) | 2017 (Kochan et al. 2019) | 2018 (Hertel-Fernandez) |
| 33% | 32% | 48% | 52% |
% of non-union workers saying that they would vote for a union at their job if union election were held today
Union representation gap is a racial and gender equity issue
% of non-union workers saying that they would vote for a union at their job if union election were held today, 2018
| All non-self-employed workers | Women workers | Low paid workers (<$25k annually) | 18-24 year olds | Hispanic workers | Black workers | Black women workers |
| 56 | 61 | 69 | 74 | 75 | 80 | 82 |
Source: Data from Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, William Kimball, and Thomas Kochan, 2020, "What Forms of Representation Do American Workers Want? Implications for Theory, Policy, and Practice," Industrial and Labor Relations Review
FIGURE 6 - The Voice Gap: The Percentage of Workers with Less Involvement than They Want on Workplace Issues
In a 2017 survey, more than half of U.S. workers reported that they had less say than they thought they should on a number of work-related issues: fringe benefits, compensation, promotion opportunities, job security, respect, protections against abuse, and the effect of new technologies.
| Issue | Percent |
| Benefits | 62 |
| Compensation | 62 |
| Promotion Opportunities | 57 |
| Job Security | 55 |
| Respect Toward Employees | 54 |
| Abuse Protections | 52 |
| Effect of New Technologies | 52 |
| Employer Values | 50 |
| Discrimination Protections | 49 |
| Access to Training | 49 |
| Ways to Improve How to Do Work | 48 |
| Quality of Products/Services | 47 |
| Safety | 45 |
| Ability to Resolve Problems or Conflict | 43 |
| Time Needed to Do job | 41 |
| Scheduling | 39 |
| Ability to Choose how to Do the Job | 35 |
Notes: Calculated as the share of respondents who, on a given issue, rate higher on how much say they ought to have compared to have much say they actually have.
Source: Adapted from Kochan et al. (2018). Data based on Kochan et al.'s analysis of worker voice survey
Workers want unions—but many, and especially younger workers, do not know how to form them
% of non-union workers saying that they would know how to form a union at their job, 2018
| 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65-74 |
| 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 19 |
Source: Data from Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, William Kimball, and Thomas Kochan, 2020.
"What Forms of Representation Do American Workers Want? Implications for Theory, Policy, and Practice," Industrial and Labor Relations Review.
Unions reflect the diversity of the workforce
Demographics of union members and the workforce overall
| Union Members | ||||
| White | Black | Hispanic | Asian | |
| Male | 35% | 7% | 9% | 3% |
| Female | 29% | 7% | 6% | 3% |
| All Workers | ||||
| White | Black | Hispanic | Asian | |
| Male | 33% | 5% | 10% | 3% |
| Female | 30% | 6% | 8% | 3% |
Source: Current Population Survey, 2017-18 pooled sample
Unionization Across States
| State | Union Membership (%) | Union Coverage (%) |
| The Ten Least Unionized States | ||
| South Carolina | 1.7 | 2 |
| North Carolina | 2.6 | 3.4 |
| Utah | 3.5 | 6.5 |
| Texas | 3.8 | 4.7 |
| Arkansas | 3.9 | 4.4 |
| South Dakota | 4 | 5 |
| Idaho | 4.7 | 5.5 |
| Louisiana | 4.7 | 5.7 |
| Georgia | 4.8 | 5.8 |
| Virginia | 4.8 | 6.5 |
| The Ten Most Unionized States | ||
| Connecticut | 14.6 | 16.2 |
| Alaska | 15.7 | 17.2 |
| Rhode Island | 15.8 | 17.5 |
| California | 15.9 | 17.8 |
| Minnesota | 15.9 | 17.1 |
| New Jersey | 16.2 | 17.9 |
| Oregon | 17.8 | 18.8 |
| Washington | 19 | 19.9 |
| New York | 22.2 | 24 |
| Hawaii | 22.4 | 24.1 |
Source: Current Population Survey, 2021
Basic Steps to Forming a Union Through Voluntary Recognition
One, contact a union organizer of start your own union. Two, have a majority of your coworkers sign union authorization cards. Three, ask your employer for voluntary recognition. Four, if your employer recognizes the union, you can begin bargaining. Five, if your employer refuses to recognize the union, you can strike for recognition or file a petition for an election with the NLRB. Contact your NLRB regional office for more info at go.usa.gov/xt3MU
Basic Steps to Forming a Union Through an NLRB Election
One, contact a union organizer or start your own union. Two, have at least 30% of coworkers sign union authorization cards. Three, file a petition for a union election with the NLRB. Four, if the union wins 50% plus one vote, your employer must bargain in good faith over working conditions. Contact your NLRB regional office for more info at go.usa.gov/xt3MU
Employers Routinely Fire Workers and Use Other Illegal Tactics to Thwart Workers’ Efforts to Unionize
U.S. employers are charged with breaking federal law in 4 in 10 (42 percent) union organizing campaigns. U.S. employers are charged with illegally firing workers in 1 in 5 (20 percent) union organizing campaigns.
In Response to a Union Organizing, an Employer Cannot
Fire or demote employees, impose new paperwork requirements to maintain employment, transfer employees to another location, contact law enforcement, including ICE, reduce pay, hours, or benefits, make work more difficult or less desirable- like changing work schedules, denying overtime, or separating employees, threaten to do any of these things Find out more at NLRB.gov or 1-844-762-6572
Workers have the right to discuss their wages – whether or not they’re represented by a union
Workers have the right to discuss their wages – whether or not they’re represented by a union. Find out more at NLRB.gov or 1-844-762-6572.
Marginal Difference in Weekly Wages Relative to Nonunion White Men
| Option 1 | Option 2 | ||||||
| Percent | Percent | ||||||
| Union | Nonunion | Footnote for Union | Union | Footnote for Nonunion | Nonunion | ||
| White Women | 100 | 801 | White Women | 100 | \1 | 80 | |
| Black Women | 99 | 731 | Black Women | 99 | \1 | 73 | |
| Latinos/Hispanic Women | 1031 | 751 | Latinos/Hispanic Women | \1 | 103 | \1 | 75 |
1 Statistically Significant at the 0.001 level
Source: Current Population Survey 2004-2019
Declining union density reduces non-union wages
Additional weekly wages that nonunion private-sector workers would earn had the share of workers in a union (union density) remained the same as in 1979, 1979–2013 (2013 dollars)
| Year | Men | Women |
| 1979 | $- | $- |
| 1980 | $4.55 | $1.81 |
| 1981 | $7.34 | $2.50 |
| 1983 | $16.93 | $4.77 |
| 1984 | $22.11 | $6.18 |
| 1985 | $25.90 | $7.39 |
| 1986 | $28.29 | $8.14 |
| 1987 | $29.63 | $8.60 |
| 1988 | $31.24 | $9.19 |
| 1989 | $32.36 | $9.76 |
| 1990 | $33.57 | $10.07 |
| 1991 | $33.57 | $10.27 |
| 1992 | $33.58 | $10.57 |
| 1993 | $34.83 | $10.89 |
| 1995 | $38.96 | $11.74 |
| 1996 | $38.38 | $11.62 |
| 1997 | $40.31 | $12.33 |
| 1998 | $42.69 | $12.74 |
| 1999 | $43.50 | $12.84 |
| 2000 | $45.00 | $13.41 |
| 2001 | $46.29 | $13.48 |
| 2002 | $48.02 | $13.76 |
| 2003 | $49.62 | $13.91 |
| 2004 | $49.55 | $13.63 |
| 2005 | $50.49 | $13.89 |
| 2006 | $51.14 | $13.86 |
| 2007 | $51.98 | $14.09 |
| 2008 | $50.01 | $13.48 |
| 2009 | $50.07 | $12.87 |
| 2010 | $49.09 | $12.63 |
| 2011 | $50.08 | $13.48 |
| 2012 | $52.48 | $13.80 |
| 2013 | $52.39 | $13.80 |
Source: Jake Rosenfeld et al. 2016. “Union decline lowers wages of nonunion workers.” Economic Policy Institute.
Unions help close racial and gender pay gaps
Women's hourly pay as a share of men's hourly pay, by union status and race and ethnicity, 2016
| All | White | Black | Hispanic | |
| Union | 94% | 94% | 100% | 88% |
| Nonunion | 78% | 76% | 88% | 84% |
Source: Elise Gould and Celine McNicholas, 2017, “Unions help narrow the gender wage gap,”
Economic Policy Institute.
Black and Hispanic workers especially benefit from public-sector collective bargaining
Differences between local government and private-sector earnings in states with strong, weak, and no collective bargaining rights, by race/ethnicity
| Race/Ethnicity | Banned | Permitted | Required |
| White | -26.50% | -19.60% | -15.30% |
| Black | -10.70% | -2.30% | 6.60% |
| Hispanic | -12.30% | -2.10% | 9.40% |
| AAPI/other | -29.00% | -15.40% | -9.80% |
Notes: AAPI = Asian American/Pacific Islander. Strength of collective bargaining rights is based on rights accorded to miscellaneous local government workers in 2015-2019.
Data are from the 50 U.S. states and D.C., with states grouped by the strength of collective bargaining in each state.
"Banned" states are those in which miscellaneous local government workers are barred from engaging in collective bargaining.
"Permitted" states are those in which local government entities may engage in collective bargaining with miscellaneous government workers but there is no statewide mandate.
"Required" states are those in which local government entities are required to engage in collective bargaining with miscellaneous local government workers. Pay gap is the difference in weekly earnings of full-time local government workers ages 18-64 compared with those of their private-sector counterparts, controlling for education, age, hours worked, state, and year using regression analysis.
Source: Authors' analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey microdata, pooled years 2015-2019; Sanes and Schmitt 2014; Valletta and Freeman 1988; Rueben 1996;
Dippel and Sauers 2019; NCTQ 2019; NEA 2020; Garcia and Han 2021; Frandsen and Webb 2017; McNicholas et al. 2020; Brannick2019; and Commonwealth 2021.
Access to Retirement Plans in Private Industry
Retirement plan access rates for private industry workers, March 2021
| Characteristics | All Retirement Plans1 | Defined Benefit Plans Only | Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans | Defined Contribution Plans Only |
| All private industry workers | 68 | 3 | 12 | 53 |
| Union | 93 | 31 | 33 | 28 |
| Non-union | 66 | 1 | 10 | 55 |
1Rounding may result in totals not equaling the cumulative 'All Retirement Plans' percent
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey
FIGURE 1. Women in Unions Have More Access to Paid Leave Benefits
| Union | |||
| Race | Paid Vacation | Paid Sick Time | Paid Leave for Doctor's Appointments |
| Hispanic | 76.90% | 82.20% | 75.20% |
| White | 71.60% | 90.10% | 85.30% |
| Black | 83.50% | 83.30% | 76.60% |
| Other Racial/Ethnic Groups | 75.10% | 82.50% | 75.80% |
| Non-Union | |||
| Race | Paid Vacation | Paid Sick Time | Paid Leave for Doctor's Appointments |
| Hispanic | 58.70% | 55.90% | 49.00% |
| White | 65.00% | 63.30% | 57.70% |
| Black | 64.70% | 63.20% | 55.40% |
| Other Racial/Ethnic Groups | 63.40% | 63.40% | 57.90% |
Source: IWPR analysis of data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys, 2016 to 2018.
Notes: Includes wage and salary workers for main job during the reference
Unions give workers more predictability and input over their work schedules
| One week or less in advance | 4 weeks or more in advance | |
| Union | 32 | 53 |
| Non-union | 41 | 39 |
Source: General Social Survey, item KNOWSCHD for 2014 and 2018, of workers with variable schedules. See also Lonnie Golden, 2015, “Irregular Work Scheduling and its Consequences,” Economic Policy Institute.
Unions kept workplaces safer during the COVID-19 pandemic
% essential service workers reporting COVID-19 resources at work by union membership, April-May 2020
| Always use PPE at work | Tested for COVID-19 | Certain would get paid leave if had fever | |
| Non-union | 53 | 9 | 30 |
| Union | 68 | 39 | 48 |
Source: Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Suresh Naidu, Adam Reich, and Patrick Youngblood, 2020, “Understanding the COVID-19 Workplace:
Evidence from a Survey of Essential Workers,” Roosevelt Institute.
Unions help close racial wealth gaps
Median wealth by union membership and race, 2010-16
| Union member | Nonunion member | Difference between Union member and Nonunion member | |
| Nonwhite | $33,511 | $6,908 | 385% |
| White | $120,700 | $86,691 | 39% |
Source: Christian Weller and David Madland, 2018, “Union Membership Narrows the Racial Wealth Gap for Families of Color,” Center for American Progress.
States with high union density have progressive policies that benefit all workers
Policies adopted
| State | Union coverage in 2020 | $15 minimum wage | Paid sick leave | Paid family leave | Fair workweek laws |
| New York | 23.6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Rhode Island | 19.1 | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Washington | 18.6 | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connecticut | 18.4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| New Jersey | 17.7 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| California | 17.6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Oregon | 17.2 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Michigan | 16.6 | No | Yes | No | No |
| Maryland | 14.2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Vermont | 13.8 | No | Yes | No | No |
| Massachusetts | 12.9 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| District of Columbia | 9.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Note: States with a given policy are indicated by Yes. The District of Columbia is included in the table even though it is not a state.
Source: EPI analysis of 2020 Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group (CPS-ORG) data for all workers age 16 and older; Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) and the National Employment Law Project, A State Agenda for America's Workers, December 2018; Economic Policy Institute, Minimum Wage Tracker, last updated 2021.
Average state minimum wage is 40% higher in high-union-density states than in low-union-density states
Average minimum wages in high-, medium- and low-union-density states
| High | National average | Medium | Low | |
| Average | $11.40 | $9.57 | $9.22 | $8.10 |
Notes: Minimum wage data are current as of 2021. Union density is defined as the share of workers in the state who are represented by a union, including union members and other workers who are covered by a union contract, based on the variable "union" from EPI extracts of CPS-ORG microdata. Low-union-density states are the 17 states with the lowest average union densities from 2015-2019 (all less than 8%). Medium-union-density states are the 17 states (including D.C.) in the middle of the union-density rankings (with union densities ranging from 8.4% to 13.3%). High-union-density states are the 17 states with the highest average union densities from 2015-2019 (greater than or equal to 13.5%). See Table 1 for more detail about these groupings.
Sources: EPI analysis of 2015-2019 Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group (CPS-ORG) microdata for all workers ages 16 and older; EPI Minimum Wage4 Tracker, updated August 2021.
Voter restriction bills are more likely to pass in low-union-density states than in high-union-density states
Number of high-medium-and low-union-density states that have passed restrictive voting laws, 2011-2019
Union density
| Low | Medium | High | |
| No voter restrictions | 5 | 7 | 13 |
| Voter restrictions | 12 | 9 | 4 |
Notes: Union density is defined as the share of workers in the stat3e who are represented by a union, including union members and other workers who are covered by a union contract, based on the variable "union from EPI extracts of CPS-ORG microdata. Low-union-density states are the 17 states with the lowest average union densities from 2015-2019 (all less than 8%). Medium-union-density states are the 16 states (D.C. is not included in this chart) in the middle of the union-density rankings (with union densities ranging from 8.3% to 13.3%). See Table 1 for more detail about these groupings.
Sources: EPI analysis of 2015-2019 Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group (CPS-ORG) microdata for all workers ages 16 and older; Brennan Center for Justice, "State Voting Bills Tracker 2021," last updated May 28, 2021.
Average UI recipiency rate (2019) in high-, medium-, and low-union-density states
Union Density
| Low | Medium | High |
| 18% | 25% | 37% |
Note: The UI recipiency rate in each state is the share of unemployed workers who are receiving unemployment insurance benefits through the state's regular UI program (i.e., not through federal emergency programs such as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance). We use a simple average of UI recipiency rates within the high-, medium-, and low-union-densirt state groupings. Union density is defined as the share of workers in the state who are represented by a union, including union members and other workers who are covered by a union contract, based on the variable "union" form from EPI extracts of CPS-ORG microdata. Low-union-density states are the 17 states with the lowest average union densities from 2015-2019 (all less than 8%). Medium-union-density states are the 17 states (including D.C.) in the middle of the union-density ranking (with union densities ranging from 8.3% to 13.3%). High-union-density states are the 17 states with the highest average union densities from 2015-2019 (greater than or equal to 13.5%). See Table 1 for more detail about these groupings.
Sources: EPI analysis of 2015-2019 Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group (CPS-ORG) microdata for all workers ages 16 and older; Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration, Unemployment Insurance Data Chartbook.
Medicaid expansion by state as of 2019
Map of the United States labelling Medicaid expansion as of 2019 by state. Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Oregon, Nevada, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Colorado, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Alaska, and Hawaii expanded Medicaid. Wisconsin, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Nebraska, Montana, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and Florida did not expand Medicaid.
Unions foster multiracial democracy and solidarity
% white workers agreeing “white people in the US have certain advantages because of the color of their skin”, 2018
| Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | |
| Current union member | 29.6 | 20.5 | 15.6 | 11.7 | 22.7 |
| Never union member | 20.4 | 21.5 | 18.6 | 15 | 24.6 |
- Many unions—and labor leaders—have promoted a vision of racial solidarity, and we see these effects in survey data
- White union members have more racially inclusive views towards minorities, especially Black Americans, than non-union members, and support more racially progressive policies
Source: 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, item CC18_422a. See also Jake Grumbach and Paul Frymer. 2021. “Labor Unions and White Racial Politics.” American Journal of Political Science: 65(1).
Average voter turnout in top and bottom 10 states by average union density, 1989-2020
| Bottom 10 states by union representation | Top 10 states by union representation | |
| Midterm election turnout | 40.7% | 45.9% |
| General election turnout | 57.7% | 61.7% |
Unions encourage more civic interactions between coworkers
% workers reporting civic engagement with coworkers, 2019
| Asked to support a political candidate, campaign, or issue | Asked to register to vote or to vote | Asked to attend a political event or meeting | Changed my mind about a political issue | Told me about a political issue I hadn't thought about before | Any coworker civic interaction | |
| Nonunion | 9 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 36 |
| Union | 24 | 20 | 21 | 17 | 27 | 58 |
Source: Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, 2020, “Power and politics in the U.S. workplace,” Economic Policy Institute.