Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 00-16 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, January 19, 2000 UNION MEMBERS IN 1999 In 1999, the share of wage and salary workers who were members of unions was 13.9 percent, essentially unchanged from the prior year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The number of union members was 16.5 million in 1999, up slightly from 1998. Some highlights from the 1999 data are: --Government workers were four times as likely to be union members as were their private sector counterparts. --Local government workers, a group that includes police officers and firefighters, had the highest unionization rate in the public sector. --A little over one-fifth of employed black men were members of unions-- the highest unionization rate across the major demographic groups. Membership by Industry and Occupation In 1999, government workers continued to have a substantially higher unionization rate (37.3 percent) than workers in the private sector (9.4 percent). Within the public sector, local government workers had the highest unionization rate, at 42.9 percent. Among the private nonagricultural industries, the highest unionization rate occurred in transportation and public utilities (25.5 percent). Unionization rates in manufacturing (15.6 percent) and in construction (19.1 percent) were higher than the average as well. The unionization rate in maufacturing continued to decline in 1999. The nonagricultural industry with the lowest unionization rate in 1999 was finance, insurance, and real estate (2.1 percent). (See table 3.) Among the occupational groups, protective service continued to have the highest unionization rate, at 38.2 percent. Other occupational groups with higher-than-average unionization rates were professional specialty workers (19.7 percent); precision production, craft, and repair workers (22.4 percent); and operators, fabricators, and laborers (20.7 percent), many of whom work in the manufacturing industry. The unionization rate was lowest in sales occupations (4.1 percent). (See table 3.) Demographic Characteristics of Union Members Union membership continued to be higher among men (16.1 percent) than women (11.4 percent). The gap in unionization rates between the sexes has been closing; in 1983 the rate for men was 24.7 percent and the rate for women was 14.6 percent. Blacks continued to have higher unionization rates (17.2 percent) than whites (13.5 percent) and Hispanics (11.9 percent). Among the major worker groups, black men continued to have the highest union membership rate (20.5 percent), while white and Hispanic women continued to have the lowest rates (10.9 and 10.4 percent, respectively). Workers ages 35 to 64 were more likely to be union members than their younger counterparts. Full-time workers were more than twice as likely as part-time workers to be union members. (See table 1.) - 2 - Union Representation of Nonmembers About 1.7 million wage and salary workers were represented at their work place by a union in 1999, but were not union members themselves. (See table 1.) A little more than half of these workers were employed in government. (See table 3.) Earnings In 1999, union members had median usual weekly earnings of $672, compared with a median of $516 for wage and salary workers who were not represented by unions. (See table 2.) The difference reflects a variety of influences in addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, including variations in the distributions of union members and non-union employees by occupation, industry, firm size, or geographic region. (For a discussion of the problem of differentiating between the influence of union 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.) 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: 202-606-5886, TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Reliability of the estimates Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending upon the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90- percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. 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) 1998 1999 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................... 116,730 16,211 13.9 17,918 15.4 118,963 16,477 13.9 18,182 15.3 16 to 24 years............................ 19,164 1,014 5.3 1,151 6.0 19,606 1,110 5.7 1,239 6.3 25 years and over......................... 97,566 15,198 15.6 16,767 17.2 99,358 15,367 15.5 16,943 17.1 25 to 34 years........................... 29,121 3,332 11.4 3,711 12.7 28,657 3,415 11.9 3,785 13.2 35 to 44 years........................... 31,865 5,013 15.7 5,511 17.3 32,438 4,918 15.2 5,428 16.7 45 to 54 years........................... 23,579 4,737 20.1 5,220 22.1 24,665 4,881 19.8 5,377 21.8 55 to 64 years........................... 10,427 1,923 18.4 2,110 20.2 10,880 1,932 17.8 2,107 19.4 65 years and over........................ 2,574 193 7.5 214 8.3 2,718 221 8.1 247 9.1 Men, 16 years and over.................... 60,973 9,850 16.2 10,638 17.4 61,914 9,949 16.1 10,758 17.4 16 to 24 years........................... 9,927 637 6.4 719 7.2 10,116 716 7.1 781 7.7 25 years and over........................ 51,046 9,213 18.0 9,919 19.4 51,797 9,232 17.8 9,977 19.3 25 to 34 years.......................... 15,656 2,112 13.5 2,301 14.7 15,330 2,142 14.0 2,325 15.2 35 to 44 years.......................... 16,768 3,055 18.2 3,264 19.5 17,020 2,993 17.6 3,241 19.0 45 to 54 years.......................... 11,874 2,771 23.3 2,982 25.1 12,395 2,800 22.6 3,026 24.4 55 to 64 years.......................... 5,404 1,177 21.8 1,265 23.4 5,622 1,186 21.1 1,267 22.5 65 years and over....................... 1,343 98 7.3 108 8.0 1,431 111 7.7 118 8.2 Women, 16 years and over.................. 55,757 6,362 11.4 7,280 13.1 57,050 6,528 11.4 7,425 13.0 16 to 24 years........................... 9,237 377 4.1 432 4.7 9,489 393 4.1 458 4.8 25 years and over........................ 46,520 5,985 12.9 6,848 14.7 47,560 6,135 12.9 6,966 14.6 25 to 34 years.......................... 13,464 1,219 9.1 1,410 10.5 13,327 1,273 9.6 1,460 11.0 35 to 44 years.......................... 15,097 1,958 13.0 2,248 14.9 15,418 1,924 12.5 2,187 14.2 45 to 54 years.......................... 11,705 1,967 16.8 2,238 19.1 12,270 2,081 17.0 2,351 19.2 55 to 64 years.......................... 5,023 746 14.9 845 16.8 5,258 746 14.2 839 16.0 65 years and over....................... 1,231 95 7.7 106 8.6 1,287 110 8.5 129 10.0 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White, 16 years and over.................. 97,531 13,118 13.5 14,460 14.8 99,147 13,349 13.5 14,668 14.8 Men..................................... 51,700 8,166 15.8 8,788 17.0 52,492 8,246 15.7 8,896 16.9 Women................................... 45,831 4,952 10.8 5,673 12.4 46,655 5,103 10.9 5,771 12.4 Black, 16 years and over.................. 13,894 2,460 17.7 2,739 19.7 14,346 2,463 17.2 2,757 19.2 Men..................................... 6,452 1,337 20.7 1,458 22.6 6,585 1,348 20.5 1,464 22.2 Women................................... 7,443 1,123 15.1 1,282 17.2 7,760 1,116 14.4 1,293 16.7 Hispanic origin, 16 years and over........ 12,374 1,471 11.9 1,634 13.2 12,810 1,525 11.9 1,684 13.1 Men..................................... 7,360 937 12.7 1,017 13.8 7,457 966 13.0 1,052 14.1 Women................................... 5,015 534 10.6 617 12.3 5,353 559 10.4 632 11.8 FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS(3) Full-time workers......................... 95,595 14,825 15.5 16,323 17.1 97,626 14,974 15.3 16,501 16.9 Part-time workers......................... 20,862 1,354 6.5 1,559 7.5 21,065 1,459 6.9 1,634 7.8 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 all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. 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 1999, 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 1998 1999 Characteristic Members Repre- Members Repre- Total of sented Non- Total of sented Non- unions(1) by union unions(1) by union unions(2) unions(2) SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over................... $523 $659 $653 $499 $549 $672 $667 $516 16 to 24 years............................ 319 415 410 315 341 437 433 335 25 years and over......................... 572 673 667 537 592 688 683 569 25 to 34 years........................... 502 595 591 489 518 604 601 506 35 to 44 years........................... 597 683 678 576 611 691 687 594 45 to 54 years........................... 620 716 712 592 652 750 745 617 55 to 64 years........................... 592 697 692 560 604 696 697 582 65 years and over........................ 405 610 597 383 404 616 623 381 Men, 16 years and over.................... 598 699 696 573 618 711 708 599 16 to 24 years........................... 334 430 424 326 356 449 443 348 25 years and over........................ 639 712 709 617 668 727 726 648 25 to 34 years.......................... 544 618 615 524 577 627 623 560 35 to 44 years.......................... 677 722 719 660 702 735 734 691 45 to 54 years.......................... 732 755 755 719 763 789 787 751 55 to 64 years.......................... 699 738 737 674 725 735 737 718 65 years and over....................... 482 657 659 445 470 666 665 421 Women, 16 years and over.................. 456 596 593 430 473 608 606 449 16 to 24 years........................... 305 389 382 301 324 418 416 321 25 years and over........................ 485 605 602 463 497 618 616 477 25 to 34 years.......................... 451 542 542 439 470 557 555 457 35 to 44 years.......................... 498 605 605 479 503 612 611 486 45 to 54 years.......................... 516 651 645 488 534 686 679 502 55 to 64 years.......................... 476 602 596 448 492 623 621 467 65 years and over....................... 350 548 522 329 370 567 596 329 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White, 16 years and over.................. 545 683 678 513 573 692 689 534 Men..................................... 615 719 716 591 638 731 730 615 Women................................... 468 610 607 443 483 619 618 461 Black, 16 years and over.................. 426 578 572 398 445 575 575 415 Men..................................... 468 597 592 424 488 588 589 459 Women................................... 400 537 533 376 409 548 545 388 Hispanic origin, 16 years and over........ 370 540 541 350 385 561 559 363 Men..................................... 390 585 584 367 406 604 597 384 Women................................... 337 478 481 322 348 490 490 329 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-time workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. 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 1999, 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) 1998 1999 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....... 33,102 4,252 12.8 5,015 15.2 34,693 4,594 13.2 5,352 15.4 Executive, administrative, and managerial. 15,473 812 5.2 1,017 6.6 16,000 903 5.6 1,138 7.1 Professional specialty.................... 17,629 3,440 19.5 3,998 22.7 18,693 3,691 19.7 4,215 22.5 Technical, sales, and administrative support 35,379 3,239 9.2 3,677 10.4 35,514 3,191 9.0 3,609 10.2 Technicians and related support........... 4,150 433 10.4 498 12.0 4,188 461 11.0 523 12.5 Sales occupations......................... 13,378 544 4.1 620 4.6 13,451 549 4.1 613 4.6 Administrative support, including clerical 17,851 2,262 12.7 2,558 14.3 17,874 2,182 12.2 2,474 13.8 Service occupations......................... 16,594 2,209 13.3 2,398 14.5 16,829 2,151 12.8 2,336 13.9 Protective service........................ 2,399 991 41.3 1,048 43.7 2,427 927 38.2 991 40.8 Service, except protective service........ 14,195 1,218 8.6 1,350 9.5 14,403 1,224 8.5 1,346 9.3 Precision production, craft, and repair..... 12,274 2,708 22.1 2,834 23.1 12,474 2,800 22.4 2,929 23.5 Operators, fabricators, and laborers........ 17,443 3,713 21.3 3,894 22.3 17,514 3,627 20.7 3,830 21.9 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.............................. 7,498 1,603 21.4 1,672 22.3 7,255 1,490 20.5 1,572 21.7 Transportation and material moving occupations............................. 4,935 1,204 24.4 1,267 25.7 5,041 1,148 22.8 1,216 24.1 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers................................ 5,010 906 18.1 956 19.1 5,218 989 18.9 1,042 20.0 Farming, forestry, and fishing.............. 1,938 90 4.6 100 5.2 1,940 113 5.8 125 6.4 INDUSTRY Private wage and salary workers............. 98,329 9,306 9.5 10,104 10.3 100,025 9,419 9.4 10,216 10.2 Agriculture............................... 1,739 26 1.5 31 1.8 1,721 43 2.5 48 2.8 Nonagricultural industries................ 96,590 9,280 9.6 10,073 10.4 98,304 9,376 9.5 10,168 10.3 Mining.................................. 589 72 12.2 79 13.4 531 57 10.6 60 11.4 Construction............................ 5,946 1,056 17.8 1,093 18.4 6,230 1,187 19.1 1,224 19.6 Manufacturing........................... 19,763 3,127 15.8 3,315 16.8 19,323 3,024 15.6 3,209 16.6 Durable goods......................... 11,999 1,990 16.6 2,097 17.5 11,824 1,941 16.4 2,063 17.5 Nondurable goods...................... 7,763 1,138 14.7 1,218 15.7 7,499 1,083 14.4 1,146 15.3 Transportation and public utilities..... 7,147 1,843 25.8 1,931 27.0 7,317 1,865 25.5 1,956 26.7 Transportation........................ 4,316 1,108 25.7 1,156 26.8 4,450 1,136 25.5 1,186 26.7 Communications and public utilities... 2,831 735 26.0 775 27.4 2,866 729 25.4 770 26.9 Wholesale and retail trade.............. 24,230 1,283 5.3 1,387 5.7 24,671 1,278 5.2 1,406 5.7 Wholesale trade....................... 4,425 259 5.9 275 6.2 4,573 248 5.4 281 6.1 Retail trade.......................... 19,805 1,024 5.2 1,113 5.6 20,098 1,030 5.1 1,126 5.6 Finance, insurance, and real estate..... 7,420 150 2.0 195 2.6 7,588 156 2.1 191 2.5 Services................................ 31,493 1,750 5.6 2,073 6.6 32,645 1,809 5.5 2,121 6.5 Government workers.......................... 18,401 6,905 37.5 7,815 42.5 18,938 7,058 37.3 7,966 42.1 Federal................................... 3,269 1,105 33.8 1,299 39.7 3,264 1,047 32.1 1,275 39.0 State..................................... 5,150 1,431 27.8 1,667 32.4 5,233 1,527 29.2 1,781 34.0 Local..................................... 9,982 4,370 43.8 4,849 48.6 10,440 4,484 42.9 4,911 47.0 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. NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers. Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Beginning in January 1999, 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 1998 1999 Occupation and industry Members Repre- Members Repre- Total of sented Non- Total of sented Non- unions(1) by union unions(1) by union unions(2) unions(2) OCCUPATION Managerial and professional specialty....... $759 $789 $774 $756 $797 $826 $819 $792 Executive, administrative, and managerial. 755 801 789 753 792 823 829 789 Professional specialty.................... 763 787 772 759 800 826 817 794 Technical, sales, and administrative support 477 575 569 463 488 583 580 477 Technicians and related support........... 599 708 688 590 618 714 711 608 Sales occupations......................... 502 496 492 502 523 513 519 523 Administrative support, including clerical 438 563 558 418 447 574 564 429 Service occupations......................... 327 557 542 305 336 536 529 314 Protective service........................ 598 736 732 450 592 737 728 477 Service, except protective service........ 305 403 402 295 311 412 409 303 Precision production, craft, and repair..... 572 753 747 514 594 755 747 546 Operators, fabricators, and laborers........ 415 585 580 381 429 591 584 398 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.............................. 406 559 556 375 423 572 566 394 Transportation and material moving occupations............................. 510 655 644 468 513 668 657 478 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers................................ 351 514 514 326 363 507 499 340 Farming, forestry, and fishing.............. 302 471 462 299 331 512 514 322 INDUSTRY Private wage and salary workers............. 505 625 619 493 521 633 627 510 Agriculture............................... 315 (3) (3) 314 340 (3) (3) 337 Nonagricultural industries................ 509 $626 $620 496 525 $634 $628 513 Mining.................................. 684 733 723 673 734 710 731 735 Construction............................ 534 790 783 496 552 778 772 509 Manufacturing........................... 551 606 603 532 576 614 611 561 Durable goods......................... 581 629 625 566 594 628 625 584 Nondurable goods...................... 507 565 562 495 529 584 579 518 Transportation and public utilities..... 624 731 724 586 651 748 742 613 Transportation........................ 570 704 695 519 596 727 718 551 Communications and public utilities... 727 763 760 699 751 773 770 738 Wholesale and retail trade.............. 410 480 476 405 421 499 492 418 Wholesale trade....................... 562 611 604 557 573 584 570 573 Retail trade.......................... 373 442 439 369 391 472 463 387 Finance, insurance, and real estate..... 577 545 554 578 598 582 587 599 Services................................ 498 540 548 494 517 554 563 515 Government workers.......................... 620 694 688 558 641 714 709 585 Federal................................... 694 690 693 696 729 721 723 737 State..................................... 596 646 638 563 615 683 677 578 Local..................................... 612 712 702 501 623 726 720 525 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 all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Beginning in January 1999, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.