Union Growth on the Rise
February 8, 2006
The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports union membership numbers are on the rise. According to January 20th figures, there has been a significant increase of 213-thousand union members in the past year while union density remained steady at 12.5 percent. Those numbers reverse a trend of decline in recent years as good union jobs disappeared.
Labor figures show the increase in union members’ wages was double the increase in wages of non-union members, underscoring just how important union membership is to workers at a time when wages are being held flat and health care and retirement costs are being shifted from employers to employees. To watch a video on this story, click here.