Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on changes in union membership from 2016 to 2017. It was good news for workers, as the total number of union members grew by 262,000 in 2017. Three-fourths of these gains (198,000) were among workers aged 34 and under, who account for less than 40 percent of total employment.
Traditionally, younger workers have been less likely than older workers to be a member of union. In 2017 about 7.7 percent of workers 16–34 were members of a union, compared with 12.6 percent of workers age 35 and older. Last year, of the 858,000 net new jobs for workers under age 35, almost one in four (23 percent) was a union job.
Related News
- EPI study estimates money lost by misclassified workers
- <strong>BE4ALL launches first Toolbox Talk</strong>
- Action needed to support Congressional Workers Union
- AFL-CIO TTD: Rail labor will not rest until freight rail industry is fixed and rail workers are treated fairly
- Meet Teresa George, a 16-year conductor with SMART TD Local 1105 (Wilmington, N.C.)
- SMART MD membership votes to ratify contract with freight rail carriers
- SMART launches video news show focused on issues that matter to members
- SMART statement on DOL rule rescinding IRAPs
- SMART Mechanical Department reaches tentative agreement with the NCCC
- SMART statement on President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act