Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 98-26
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact: 606-5902 Friday, January 30, 1998
Union Members in 1997
The share of workers who were union members continued to decline in
1997, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Union members accounted for 14.1 percent of wage and salary
employment in 1997, down from 14.5 percent in 1996. The union membership
rate has fallen steadily from 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year for
which comparable data are available.
About three-fifths of the 16.1 million union members in 1997 were in
private nonagricultural industries, where they constituted 9.8 percent of
wage and salary employment. About 6.7 million union members worked in
government (federal, state, and local), accounting for 37.2 percent of
government employment.
Membership by industry and occupation
Among the private nonagricultural industries, transportation and
public utilities had the highest unionization rate (26.0 percent), followed
by construction (18.6 percent). Manufacturing and mining also had above-
average unionization rates, at 16.3 and 13.9 percent, respectively. In the
other industry groups, the proportion of workers who were members of unions
ranged from about 2.1 to 5.8 percent. (See table 3.)
Among the occupational groups, the unionization rate was highest among
those working in protective service jobs (39.9 percent). This group
includes many government workers such as police officers and firefighters.
Union membership rates also were high in professional specialty; precision
production, craft, and repair; and operator, fabricator, and laborer
occupations. Rates were lowest in sales and in farming, forestry, and
fishing occupations, at 4.3 and 4.6 percent, respectively. (See table 3.)
Demographic characteristics of union members
Union membership was higher among men (16.3 percent) than women (11.6
percent) and higher among blacks (17.9 percent) than either whites (13.6
percent) or Hispanics (11.8 percent). Within these groups, black men
continued to have the highest union membership rate (20.2 percent), while
white and Hispanic women had the lowest rates (both about 11 percent).
Workers ages 35 to 64 were more likely to be members of unions than either
their younger or older counterparts. Full-time workers were more than
twice as likely as part timers to be union members. (See table 1.)
Union representation of nonmembers
About 1.8 million wage and salary workers were represented at their
work place by a union in 1997, while not being union members themselves.
About half of these workers were employed in government.
- 2 -
Earnings
In 1997, union members had median usual weekly earnings of $640
compared with a median of $478 for wage and salary employees not
represented by unions. (See table 2.) This difference reflects a variety
of influences in addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement,
including variations in the distributions of union members and nonunion
employees by occupation, industry, firm size, or geographic region. (For a
discussion of the problem of differentiating between the influence of
unionization status and the influence of other worker characteristics on
employee earnings, see Kay E. Anderson, Philip M. Doyle, and Albert E.
Schwenk, "Measuring union-nonunion earnings differences," Monthly Labor
Review, June 1990, pp. 26-38.) The union-nonunion earnings ratio was
greater for women than for men and for blacks and Hispanics than for
whites.
Technical Note
The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population
Survey (CPS), which provides the basic information on the labor force,
employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the
Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Bureau of the Census from a
scientifically selected national sample of about 50,000 households. The
union membership and earnings data are tabulated from one-quarter of the
CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. Excluded
are all self-employed workers.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-7828, TDD phone:
202-606-5897, TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577.
Reliability
In any sample survey, variations in the data can occur by chance
because a sample, rather than the whole population, is surveyed. The
standard error is a measure of such potential variation. The chances are
about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from a figure
that would be obtained from a complete census by less than one standard
error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that such a difference would be
less than 1.6 standard errors.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and
information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of
Employment and Earnings.
Definitions
The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly
below.
Union members. Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee
association similar to a union.
Represented by unions. Data refer to union members, as well as
workers who have no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union
or an employee association contract.
Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes and other
deductions and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually
received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders). Prior to
1994, respondents were asked how much they usually earned per week. Since
January 1994, respondents have been asked to identify the easiest way for
them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly,
annually, other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time
period. Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a
weekly equivalent. The term "usual" is as perceived by the respondent. If
the respondent asks for a definition of usual, interviewers are instructed
to define the term as more than half the weeks worked during the past 4 or
5 months.
Median earnings. The median is the amount which divides a given
earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the
median and the other having earnings below the median.
The estimating procedure places each reported or calculated weekly
earnings value into $50-wide intervals which are centered around multiples
of $50. The actual value is estimated through the linear interpolation of
the interval in which the median lies.
Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries,
commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes
employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the purposes of
the union membership and earnings series, excludes all self-employed
persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.
Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week
at their sole or principal job.
Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per
week at their sole or principal job.
Hispanic origin. Refers to persons who are of Mexican, Puerto Rican,
Cuban, Central or South American, or other Hispanic origin or descent.
Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race; hence, they are included in
the numbers for the white and black populations.
Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by selected characteristics
(Numbers in thousands)
1996 1997
Members of Represented Members of Represented
unions(1) by unions(2) unions(1) by unions(2)
Characteristic Total Total
em- em-
ployed Percent Percent ployed Percent Percent
Total of Total of Total of Total of
em- em- em- em-
ployed ployed ployed ployed
SEX AND AGE
Total, 16 years and over................... 111,960 16,269 14.5 18,158 16.2 114,533 16,110 14.1 17,923 15.6
16 to 24 years............................ 18,106 991 5.5 1,146 6.3 18,571 968 5.2 1,140 6.1
25 years and over......................... 93,854 15,278 16.3 17,012 18.1 95,962 15,142 15.8 16,783 17.5
25 to 34 years........................... 29,564 3,536 12.0 3,994 13.5 29,408 3,434 11.7 3,870 13.2
35 to 44 years........................... 30,619 5,132 16.8 5,716 18.7 31,461 4,987 15.9 5,571 17.7
45 to 54 years........................... 21,641 4,626 21.4 5,106 23.6 22,714 4,645 20.5 5,092 22.4
55 to 64 years........................... 9,527 1,795 18.8 1,984 20.8 9,871 1,894 19.2 2,045 20.7
65 years and over........................ 2,503 189 7.5 211 8.4 2,509 182 7.3 205 8.2
Men, 16 years and over.................... 58,473 9,859 16.9 10,761 18.4 59,825 9,763 16.3 10,619 17.7
16 to 24 years........................... 9,392 627 6.7 709 7.5 9,666 612 6.3 691 7.1
25 years and over........................ 49,080 9,232 18.8 10,052 20.5 50,159 9,150 18.2 9,928 19.8
25 to 34 years.......................... 15,930 2,205 13.8 2,434 15.3 15,832 2,132 13.5 2,359 14.9
35 to 44 years.......................... 15,921 3,100 19.5 3,368 21.2 16,430 3,068 18.7 3,346 20.4
45 to 54 years.......................... 10,936 2,739 25.0 2,960 27.1 11,471 2,718 23.7 2,908 25.4
55 to 64 years.......................... 4,978 1,079 21.7 1,166 23.4 5,101 1,130 22.1 1,198 23.5
65 years and over....................... 1,315 109 8.3 124 9.5 1,324 103 7.8 118 8.9
Women, 16 years and over.................. 53,488 6,410 12.0 7,397 13.8 54,708 6,347 11.6 7,304 13.4
16 to 24 years........................... 8,714 364 4.2 437 5.0 8,906 355 4.0 449 5.0
25 years and over........................ 44,773 6,046 13.5 6,960 15.5 45,802 5,992 13.1 6,855 15.0
25 to 34 years.......................... 13,634 1,331 9.8 1,560 11.4 13,575 1,302 9.6 1,512 11.1
35 to 44 years.......................... 14,698 2,032 13.8 2,349 16.0 15,030 1,919 12.8 2,225 14.8
45 to 54 years.......................... 10,705 1,887 17.6 2,146 20.0 11,242 1,927 17.1 2,184 19.4
55 to 64 years.......................... 4,549 716 15.7 818 18.0 4,770 764 16.0 847 17.8
65 years and over....................... 1,187 80 6.7 87 7.3 1,184 80 6.7 87 7.3
RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX
White, 16 years and over.................. 94,306 13,232 14.0 14,761 15.7 96,104 13,088 13.6 14,538 15.1
Men..................................... 49,961 8,216 16.4 8,961 17.9 50,941 8,171 16.0 8,859 17.4
Women................................... 44,345 5,016 11.3 5,800 13.1 45,163 4,917 10.9 5,679 12.6
Black, 16 years and over.................. 12,909 2,441 18.9 2,733 21.2 13,346 2,394 17.9 2,688 20.1
Men..................................... 6,031 1,303 21.6 1,428 23.7 6,201 1,251 20.2 1,378 22.2
Women................................... 6,878 1,138 16.5 1,305 19.0 7,145 1,143 16.0 1,309 18.3
Hispanic origin, 16 years and over........ 10,800 1,394 12.9 1,573 14.6 11,881 1,407 11.8 1,602 13.5
Men..................................... 6,455 881 13.7 971 15.0 7,153 904 12.6 1,023 14.3
Women................................... 4,345 513 11.8 602 13.9 4,728 503 10.6 579 12.2
FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS(3)
Full-time workers......................... 90,918 14,762 16.2 16,429 18.1 93,578 14,619 15.6 16,227 17.3
Part-time workers......................... 20,810 1,477 7.1 1,697 8.2 20,710 1,449 7.0 1,653 8.0
1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
3 The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked. Beginning in 1994, these data will
not sum to totals because full- or part-time status on the principal job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple
jobholders.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers. Excluded are self-employed workers
whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers. Detail for the above race
and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics
are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population
controls used in the household survey.
Table 2. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation and selected
characteristics
1996 1997
Characteristic Members Repre- Members Repre-
of sented Non- of sented Non-
Total unions- by union Total unions- by union
(1) unions- (1) unions-
(2) (2)
SEX AND AGE
Total, 16 years and over................... $490 $615 $610 $462 $503 $640 $632 $478
16 to 24 years............................ 298 371 362 294 306 385 384 302
25 years and over......................... 520 625 621 498 540 655 648 511
25 to 34 years........................... 463 554 548 447 481 579 572 466
35 to 44 years........................... 559 636 632 530 579 675 666 548
45 to 54 years........................... 594 687 686 552 607 704 697 578
55 to 64 years........................... 535 620 616 505 558 661 657 512
65 years and over........................ 384 510 510 367 393 614 609 374
Men, 16 years and over.................... 557 653 651 520 579 683 679 539
16 to 24 years........................... 307 375 369 303 317 402 404 313
25 years and over........................ 599 669 668 580 615 697 693 595
25 to 34 years.......................... 499 591 587 485 515 607 603 503
35 to 44 years.......................... 632 683 683 617 651 712 708 630
45 to 54 years.......................... 698 718 721 682 713 744 741 698
55 to 64 years.......................... 643 667 664 633 669 702 701 649
65 years and over....................... 477 589 593 424 452 677 672 415
Women, 16 years and over.................. 418 549 543 398 431 577 568 411
16 to 24 years........................... 284 358 339 280 292 353 351 289
25 years and over........................ 444 560 555 420 462 587 581 437
25 to 34 years.......................... 415 497 495 405 427 521 514 416
35 to 44 years.......................... 463 561 556 439 482 592 585 461
45 to 54 years.......................... 481 620 616 445 495 627 620 465
55 to 64 years.......................... 420 524 523 395 433 582 575 408
65 years and over....................... 334 417 413 321 348 (3) 586 324
RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX
White, 16 years and over.................. 506 635 630 480 519 663 654 494
Men..................................... 580 675 673 544 595 699 695 569
Women................................... 428 572 564 408 444 595 587 421
Black, 16 years and over.................. 387 507 502 356 400 533 523 371
Men..................................... 412 526 522 380 432 577 573 396
Women................................... 362 485 480 336 375 504 496 349
Hispanic origin, 16 years and over........ 339 484 482 319 351 506 501 331
Men..................................... 356 511 511 330 371 538 526 348
Women................................... 316 436 433 305 318 440 430 309
1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers
who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
3 Data not shown where base is less than 50,000.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-time workers. Excluded are self-employed
workers whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers.
Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other
races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.
Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
Table 3. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry
(Numbers in thousands)
1996 1997
Members of Represented Members of Represented
unions(1) by unions(2) unions(1) by unions(2)
Occupation and industry Total Total
em- em-
ployed Percent Percent ployed Percent Percent
Total of Total of Total of Total of
em- em- em- em-
ployed ployed ployed ployed
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty....... 30,942 4,196 13.6 4,977 16.1 31,946 4,208 13.2 4,951 15.5
Executive, administrative, and managerial. 14,263 785 5.5 1,005 7.0 14,908 763 5.1 959 6.4
Professional specialty.................... 16,679 3,410 20.4 3,972 23.8 17,037 3,445 20.2 3,992 23.4
Technical, sales, and administrative support 34,187 3,231 9.5 3,742 10.9 34,796 3,158 9.1 3,648 10.5
Technicians and related support........... 3,828 409 10.7 492 12.8 4,111 427 10.4 501 12.2
Sales occupations......................... 12,658 541 4.3 616 4.9 13,055 559 4.3 659 5.0
Administrative support, including clerical 17,701 2,281 12.9 2,634 14.9 17,631 2,172 12.3 2,488 14.1
Service occupations......................... 15,897 2,103 13.2 2,331 14.7 16,204 2,141 13.2 2,356 14.5
Protective service........................ 2,154 852 39.5 909 42.2 2,248 897 39.9 965 42.9
Service, except protective service........ 13,743 1,251 9.1 1,421 10.3 13,956 1,244 8.9 1,391 10.0
Precision production, craft, and repair..... 11,615 2,648 22.8 2,804 24.1 12,069 2,723 22.6 2,864 23.7
Operators, fabricators, and laborers........ 17,428 4,000 23.0 4,201 24.1 17,629 3,791 21.5 4,008 22.7
Machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors.................................. 7,584 1,752 23.1 1,838 24.2 7,717 1,690 21.9 1,764 22.9
Transportation and material moving
occupations................................. 4,862 1,243 25.6 1,313 27.0 4,931 1,199 24.3 1,279 25.9
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
laborers.................................... 4,981 1,005 20.2 1,050 21.1 4,981 901 18.1 964 19.4
Farming, forestry, and fishing.............. 1,892 92 4.9 104 5.5 1,890 88 4.6 97 5.1
INDUSTRY
Agricultural wage and salary workers........ 1,710 32 1.9 37 2.2 1,690 36 2.1 40 2.4
Private nonagricultural wage and salary
workers..................................... 92,059 9,385 10.2 10,293 11.2 94,705 9,327 9.8 10,215 10.8
Mining.................................... 538 76 14.1 81 15.0 607 84 13.9 87 14.3
Construction.............................. 5,387 994 18.5 1,033 19.2 5,739 1,067 18.6 1,118 19.5
Manufacturing............................. 19,653 3,387 17.2 3,603 18.3 19,961 3,253 16.3 3,441 17.2
Durable goods........................... 11,642 2,157 18.5 2,282 19.6 11,908 2,090 17.5 2,198 18.5
Nondurable goods........................ 8,011 1,230 15.4 1,320 16.5 8,053 1,164 14.5 1,243 15.4
Transportation and public utilities....... 6,623 1,757 26.5 1,873 28.3 6,949 1,804 26.0 1,909 27.5
Transportation.......................... 4,006 1,080 27.0 1,136 28.4 4,212 1,118 26.5 1,177 27.9
Communications and public utilities..... 2,617 677 25.9 737 28.2 2,737 686 25.1 731 26.7
Wholesale and retail trade................ 23,638 1,331 5.6 1,471 6.2 23,676 1,315 5.6 1,469 6.2
Wholesale trade......................... 4,357 271 6.2 292 6.7 4,296 251 5.8 284 6.6
Retail trade............................ 19,280 1,059 5.5 1,179 6.1 19,379 1,065 5.5 1,186 6.1
Finance, insurance, and real estate....... 6,863 168 2.4 210 3.1 7,070 155 2.2 199 2.8
Services.................................. 29,357 1,672 5.7 2,024 6.9 30,704 1,647 5.4 1,993 6.5
Government workers.......................... 18,210 6,854 37.6 7,830 43.0 18,147 6,747 37.2 7,668 42.3
Federal................................... 3,284 1,040 31.7 1,277 38.9 3,217 1,030 32.0 1,266 39.4
State..................................... 5,132 1,566 30.5 1,810 35.3 5,031 1,485 29.5 1,679 33.4
Local..................................... 9,795 4,249 43.4 4,743 48.4 9,899 4,232 42.7 4,723 47.7
1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers. Excluded are self-employed workers
whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers. Beginning in January 1997,
data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
Table 4. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and
industry
1996 1997
Occupation and industry Members Repre- Members Repre-
of sented Non- of sented Non-
Total unions- by union Total unions- by union
(1) unions- (1) unions-
(2) (2)
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty....... $718 $758 $749 $708 $738 $776 $766 $731
Executive, administrative, and managerial. 699 742 745 694 725 757 752 721
Professional specialty.................... 730 762 750 721 750 782 769 742
Technical, sales, and administrative support 441 532 524 427 456 550 541 441
Technicians and related support........... 573 664 661 554 582 677 675 566
Sales occupations......................... 474 451 459 475 482 467 469 483
Administrative support, including clerical 405 524 516 389 419 545 534 404
Service occupations......................... 305 490 484 282 313 516 505 293
Protective service........................ 538 693 686 413 550 724 713 418
Service, except protective service........ 283 379 379 271 293 398 393 283
Precision production, craft, and repair..... 540 703 698 494 548 724 718 501
Operators, fabricators, and laborers........ 391 528 522 353 401 572 561 365
Machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors.................................. 380 512 508 345 390 533 524 356
Transportation and material moving
occupations................................. 476 610 601 425 498 658 642 451
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
laborers.................................... 330 481 477 308 329 509 506 310
Farming, forestry, and fishing.............. 294 439 423 288 295 505 475 290
INDUSTRY
Agricultural wage and salary workers........ 306 (3) (3) 305 306 (3) (3) 305
Private nonagricultural wage and salary
workers..................................... 475 $584 $579 458 490 $610 $603 476
Mining.................................... 693 698 699 690 680 717 717 668
Construction.............................. 504 748 742 464 518 771 760 484
Manufacturing............................. 507 560 558 494 517 595 592 503
Durable goods........................... 533 588 587 517 548 619 616 523
Nondurable goods........................ 466 510 507 453 484 536 529 470
Transportation and public utilities....... 596 680 676 555 617 718 714 580
Transportation.......................... 527 656 649 491 573 702 697 513
Communications and public utilities..... 693 707 705 684 709 746 743 690
Wholesale and retail trade................ 380 450 444 375 391 457 451 387
Wholesale trade......................... 503 566 551 500 525 545 536 524
Retail trade............................ 343 408 408 338 352 419 415 347
Finance, insurance, and real estate....... 521 534 533 520 546 487 501 548
Services.................................. 456 501 498 451 475 517 512 470
Government workers.......................... 592 657 651 518 605 681 671 530
Federal................................... 672 677 679 663 684 689 687 678
State..................................... 557 610 605 514 584 628 621 540
Local..................................... 580 671 661 473 592 697 682 479
1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers
who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
3 Data not shown where base is less than 50,000.
NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full-time workers. Excluded are self-employed
workers whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers.
Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Contact: (cpsinfo@bls.gov) Division of Labor Force Statistics-BLS
Last revised: February 02, 1998
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/union_97.htm
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