The number of union members nationwide declined by 280,000 in 2002, the Labor Department reported.Contributing factors included job losses in factories, the aftereffects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Bush recession.
The figures, released in Washington by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said unions had 16.107 million members last year, down from 16.387 million, a revised figure for 2001.
Three of every eight public sector workers - teachers, Fire Fighters, state workers and others - were unionized, and their numbers rose by 165,000 and 0.3 percent last year, to 7.351 million, BLS said. Overall, 13.2 percent of all workers were unionized last year, compared to 13.4 percent in 2001.
By contrast, private-sector union numbers declined by 445,000, from 8.9 percent of all private workers in 2001 to 8.5 percent last year. That reflected big drops in factories, airplanes and hotels and restaurants - the latter due to the terrorist attacks.
"Although more than half a million workers formed new unions last year, this gain did not offset post-Sept. 11 losses in traditionally unionized sectors, like airlines, hotels, construction and manufacturing, the AFL-CIO Executive Council said in a Feb. 25 statement from its meeting in Hollywood, Fla.
Levels of unionization
Some public sectors are heavily unionized. BLS said "protective service workers - the Fire Fighters and their colleagues - were 37 percent union, down slightly from 2001.
American Federation of Teachers spokesman Jamie Horwitz estimated that between his union and the 2.2-million member National Education Association, more than 80 percent of the nation's primary and secondary school teachers are unionized.
The BLS said it was 90 percent sure its numbers would be identical if it surveyed every household in the U.S., rather than a 60,000-household sample.
But an agency economist familiar with the survey and its methodology cautioned that "a 0.2 percentage-point drop could be significant, though it's probably of borderline significance.
"It's going to be hard to say if the 0.2 percent really represents a drop in union members, she told PAI. After all, the unemployment rate - a more widely quoted number also based on a BLS survey - has a plus or minus 0.2 percent range, she added. The best thing to do, she said, is compare several years of data.
Larry Mishel, co-founder of the labor-backed Economic Policy Institute, cited Bush's recession and the attacks.
"The most (economic) cyclically sensitive sectors are in manufacturing and construction, and they're also the most heavily unionized," he told a press briefing. "The decline was compounded by 9/11."
Union pay advantage
But Mishel also said "the 'union advantage' is a benefit" especially during a recession, both in wages and fringe benefits. And on pay, at least, the BLS survey bore him out.
Median weekly earnings for all workers rose from $595 in 2001 to $609 in 2002, or 2.4 percent. That's equal to 2002's 2.4 percent inflation. The median is the point at which half the workforce earns more each week and the other half earns less.
But the median for union workers rose 3.2 percent, from $717 in 2001 to $740 in 2002.
Male workers gained less, as their wages rose 1.8 percent from 2001 to 2002, from $668 to $680. That reflected the factory firings, Mishel said. Male union workers had a slightly larger increase, of 2.1 percent, from $764 to $780.
Female workers' wages rose 3.7 percent last year, from a median weekly wage of $511 in 2001 to $530 in 2002. Female union workers' wages - already more than $100 per week ahead of all female workers - -saw their median wages rise by 4.2 percent last year, from $643 per week to $667.
The four most-unionized states in 2002 were New York (25.3 percent), Hawaii (24.4 percent), Alaska (24.3 percent) and Michigan (21.1 percent). Six states accounted for half of all union members: California (2.454 million), New York (1.987 million), Illinois (1.066 million), Michigan (914,000), Ohio (858,000) and Pennsylvania (847,000).
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
The number of union members nationwide declined by 280,000 in 2002, the Labor Department reported.Contributing factors included job losses in factories, the aftereffects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Bush recession.
The figures, released in Washington by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said unions had 16.107 million members last year, down from 16.387 million, a revised figure for 2001.
Three of every eight public sector workers – teachers, Fire Fighters, state workers and others – were unionized, and their numbers rose by 165,000 and 0.3 percent last year, to 7.351 million, BLS said. Overall, 13.2 percent of all workers were unionized last year, compared to 13.4 percent in 2001.
By contrast, private-sector union numbers declined by 445,000, from 8.9 percent of all private workers in 2001 to 8.5 percent last year. That reflected big drops in factories, airplanes and hotels and restaurants – the latter due to the terrorist attacks.
“Although more than half a million workers formed new unions last year, this gain did not offset post-Sept. 11 losses in traditionally unionized sectors, like airlines, hotels, construction and manufacturing, the AFL-CIO Executive Council said in a Feb. 25 statement from its meeting in Hollywood, Fla.
Levels of unionization
Some public sectors are heavily unionized. BLS said “protective service workers – the Fire Fighters and their colleagues – were 37 percent union, down slightly from 2001.
American Federation of Teachers spokesman Jamie Horwitz estimated that between his union and the 2.2-million member National Education Association, more than 80 percent of the nation’s primary and secondary school teachers are unionized.
The BLS said it was 90 percent sure its numbers would be identical if it surveyed every household in the U.S., rather than a 60,000-household sample.
But an agency economist familiar with the survey and its methodology cautioned that “a 0.2 percentage-point drop could be significant, though it’s probably of borderline significance.
“It’s going to be hard to say if the 0.2 percent really represents a drop in union members, she told PAI. After all, the unemployment rate – a more widely quoted number also based on a BLS survey – has a plus or minus 0.2 percent range, she added. The best thing to do, she said, is compare several years of data.
Larry Mishel, co-founder of the labor-backed Economic Policy Institute, cited Bush’s recession and the attacks.
“The most (economic) cyclically sensitive sectors are in manufacturing and construction, and they’re also the most heavily unionized,” he told a press briefing. “The decline was compounded by 9/11.”
Union pay advantage
But Mishel also said “the ‘union advantage’ is a benefit” especially during a recession, both in wages and fringe benefits. And on pay, at least, the BLS survey bore him out.
Median weekly earnings for all workers rose from $595 in 2001 to $609 in 2002, or 2.4 percent. That’s equal to 2002’s 2.4 percent inflation. The median is the point at which half the workforce earns more each week and the other half earns less.
But the median for union workers rose 3.2 percent, from $717 in 2001 to $740 in 2002.
Male workers gained less, as their wages rose 1.8 percent from 2001 to 2002, from $668 to $680. That reflected the factory firings, Mishel said. Male union workers had a slightly larger increase, of 2.1 percent, from $764 to $780.
Female workers’ wages rose 3.7 percent last year, from a median weekly wage of $511 in 2001 to $530 in 2002. Female union workers’ wages – already more than $100 per week ahead of all female workers – -saw their median wages rise by 4.2 percent last year, from $643 per week to $667.
The four most-unionized states in 2002 were New York (25.3 percent), Hawaii (24.4 percent), Alaska (24.3 percent) and Michigan (21.1 percent). Six states accounted for half of all union members: California (2.454 million), New York (1.987 million), Illinois (1.066 million), Michigan (914,000), Ohio (858,000) and Pennsylvania (847,000).
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.