In 2009, 15.3 million workers belonged to unions, making up 12.3 percent of the workforce.
Union members work in all types of jobs and industries. They are teachers, coal miners, construction workers, nurses, firefighters, musicians, engineers, electricians, etc.
Slightly more than half of all union members work in the public sector. They are teachers, police officers, firefighters, letter carriers, etc.
More than one out of five union members are teachers, trainers, and librarians. About one out of six union members are production workers.
Over 37 percent of public sector workers are union members, while only 7.2 percent of private sector workers are union members. Private sector labor laws provide inadequate protections against employer intimidation and harassment when workers try to organize.
The occupations with the largest percentage of union members are education, training, and library occupations in which 38.1 percent are union members and protection service occupations in which 35.6 percent are union members.
OCCUPATIONS WITH 10 PERCENT OR HIGHER UNION DENSITY
Total Employed (in Thousands)
Percent of Total Employees
Union Members (in Thousands)
Percent of Union Membership
Union Density
Union members
15327
12.3
15327
100
100
Public Sector
21133
17.0
7896
51.5
37.4
Private Sector
103357
83.0
7431
48.5
7.2
Life, Physical & Social Science
1220
1.0
112
0.7
10.0
Community & Social Service
2269
1.8
336
2.2
16.1
Education, Training & Library
8318
6.7
3172
20.7
38.1
Health Care Practitioner & Technical
7067
5.7
962
6.3
13.6
Health Care Support
3159
2.5
1111
7.2
35.6
Protective Service
3120
2.5
1111
7.2
35.6
Building, Grounds Cleanings & Maintenance
4592
3.7
521
3.4
11.3
Office & Administrative Support
17667
14.2
1820
11.9
10.3
Construction & Extraction
5820
4.7
1220
8.0
21.0
Installation, Maintenance & Repair
4531
3.6
744
4.9
16.4
Production
15052
12.1
2492
16.3
16.6
Transportation & Material Moving
7742
6.2
1410
9.2
18.2
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Union Members in 2009,” January 2010.
Prepared by the AFL-CIO.
