Haynes and Boone's Newsroom

Unions in the New Millennium - The New Battle Grounds: What Employees Should Expect
10/17/2001
Jonathan C. Wilson

Excerpt

Union Membership by State.
Every state in the Middle Atlantic, East North Central and Pacific divisions had unionization rates of 15.0 percent of their workforce or more in 2000.  On the other hand, every state in the East South Central, South Atlantic, and West South Central divisions had unionization rates of below 15 percent.

Five states had unionization rates of over 20 percent--New York, Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, and New Jersey.  Two states had unionization rates under 5 percent--North Carolina and South Carolina.  Overall, 23 states and the District of Columbia had unionization rates above the national average, while 27 states had unionization rates below the national average. 

California (2.3 million), New York (2.0 million), and Illinois (1.0 million) had the greatest number of union members.  More than half of union members nationwide lived in only seven states:  These three, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

In 2000, Texas had 8,755,000 employed workers.  This number was up from 8,725,000 in 1999.  Only 5.8 percent of Texas workers in 2000 were union members.  This unionization rate declined from 6.0 percent in 1999, despite the fact that Texas added 30,000 workers to the employment roles.

For the complete publication please download the PDF below.