Union Membership Stops Falling

According to a recent USA Today article, nationwide union membership increased by nearly 50,000 in 2011, after falling by almost 1.4 million over the previous two years. While union membership grew by 110,000 in the private sector, these gains were offset by losses of 61,000 union members in government jobs. As a percentage of the overall workforce, union membership fell from 11.9% to 11.8%, which is the lowest percentage of union workers since the 1930s. Union membership peaked at about one-third of all workers in the 1950s. By state, Florida and Michigan saw the largest increase in union members, while New York, which is the most heavily unionized state in the nation, saw the largest drop.