Union Membership on the Decline

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of Americans who were members of a labor union declined by roughly 0.5% between 2011 and 2012. This appears to be part of a larger trend. In 1983, it was estimated by the bureau that 20.1% of Americans belonged to a union. This report also shows a substantial gap between the percentage of private sector workers who belong to a union and the number of public sector workers. More than a third of public sector workers belong to a union but only 6.6% of private sector workers are unionized.

There are also large differences in union membership between states and regions. As evident by the figure, union membership in quite low in many areas of the South but significantly higher in the Midwest, the West, and the Northeast. It also appears that certain people are more likely to be members of unions than others. For instance, union membership stands at 14.9% among those ages 55 to 64 but only at 4.2% among those between the ages of 16 and 24. More men than women are members of union. Union membership also varied by race, with African Americans boasting the highest union membership rate, followed by whites, Asians, and Hispanics.

Partisan Divide at 25-Year High

The Pew Research Center recently released a report on the growing partisan polarization in America.  Pew surveyed respondents for the past 25 years on 48 different political values measures.  Over the 48 questions, the average percentage-point difference between Republicans and Democrats was 18%, up from 10% a quarter-century ago.  Additionally, whereas other divides based on race, education, and income have remained stable, party differences have surged.  The issues that have contributed most to this increasing polarization are the social safety net, the environment, labor unions, equal opportunity, the scope and size of the government, and immigration.  The environment and the size of the government in particular have experienced the greatest shift in polarization; the percentage-point difference regarding the environment and size of government is 34% and 27% higher respectively than 25 years ago.  Perhaps this disparity is linked to another of Pew’s discoveries examining partisan identification.  When asked how they identify themselves, 68% of Republicans believed they were conservative, up from 60% in 2000. Additionally, 38% of Democrats felt they were liberal, up from 28% in 2000.