Full text of Union Members : 1996, USDL 97-27 : 1996
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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov:80/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 97-27 Media contact: 606-5902 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Friday, January 31, 1997 UNION MEMBERS IN 1996 Union membership as a percent of wage and salary employment continued to decline in 1996, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Union members accounted for 14.5 percent of wage and salary employment in 1996, down from 14.9 percent in 1995. In 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available, union members made up 20.1 percent of wage and salary workers. In 1996, as wage and salary employment continued to rise, the number who were members of unions totaled 16.3 million, little changed from the prior year. Nearly three-fifths of union members (9.4 million) were in private industry, where they constituted 10.2 percent of wage and salary employment. There were 6.9 million union members in government (federal, state, and local), where they accounted for 37.7 percent of wage and salary employment. Membership by industry and occupation Among private industry groups, transportation and public utilities had the highest proportion of workers who were union members (27 percent). Other major groups with membership proportions above the private industry average were construction (19 percent), manufacturing (17 percent), and mining (14 percent). The remaining private industry groups had unionization rates ranging from 2 to 6 percent. (See table 3.) Precision production, craft, and repair occupations (including, for example, mechanics, electricians, and other skilled trades workers) and operators, fabricators, and laborers (including machine and vehicle operators, assemblers, cleaners, and helpers) continued to have the highest proportions of union members (23 percent each). In contrast, union membership proportions were about 1 in 10 among technical and administrative support occupations and 1 in 20 among farming, forestry, and fishing workers. (See table 3.) Demographic characteristics of union members Union membership was higher among men (17 percent) than women (12 percent) and higher among blacks (19 percent) than either whites (14 percent) or Hispanics (13 percent). Within these major groups, black men - 2 continued to have the highest union membership rate (22 percent), while white women had the lowest rate (11 percent). Workers ages 35 to 64 had higher unionization rates than either younger or older workers. Full-time workers were more than twice as likely as part timers to be union members. (See table 1.) Union representation of non-members In 1996, 1.9 million wage and salary workers were represented at their work place by a union, although they were not union members themselves. A little more than half worked in government. Earnings Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had median usual weekly earnings of $615 in 1996, compared with a median of $462 for workers not represented by unions. (See tables 2 and 4.) This difference reflects a variety of influences in addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, including variations in the distribution of union members and nonunion employees by gender, occupation, industry, firm size, or geographic region. (For a discussion of the problem of differentiating between the influence of unionization status and 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 disparities in unionnonunion earnings were greater for women than for men and for Hispanics and blacks than for whites. Technical Note The union membership and earnings estimates presented in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly sample survey of about 50,000 households, conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The union membership data are gathered quarterly through a quarter sample of the CPS. The CPS provides estimates of the number of wage and salary employees who are union members and those who are represented by a union at their work place, regardless of whether they are union members. Union members include employees belonging to traditional labor unions or to employee associations similar to labor unions. The membership estimates exclude workers who are self-employed, not in the labor force, or unemployed. 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. Definitions The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below. Wage and salary employees. Employees in both the private and public sectors who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. Self-employed persons whose businesses are incorporated are not counted as wage and salary workers for the purposes of the union membership data. Full-time workers. Part-time workers. week. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per Hispanic origin. Refers to persons who are of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or of 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 population groups. Reliability Because the CPS estimates of union membership are based in part on a scientifically selected probability sample, rather than a census of the entire population, they may differ from the results obtained from a census. The sample used was one of many possible samples, each of which could have produced different estimates. The variation in the sample estimates across all possible samples that could have been drawn is measured by the standard error which for the CPS is estimated using generalized variance function methodology. The standard error may be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample estimate. - 2 The 90-percent confidence interval is the interval centered at the sample estimate that includes all values within 1.6 times the estimate's standard error. If many different samples were selected to estimate the population value (e.g., union membership), the 90-percent confidence interval would include the true population value approximately 90 percent of the time. For example, the estimate of 16,269,000 employed union members in 1996 has an estimated standard error of 146,645. Hence, we are 90-percent confident that the interval between 16,034,368 and 16,503,632 (or 16,269,000 + 1.6 X 146,645) includes the true population value for union membership. The data also are subject to nonsampling error. For example, information on job-related characteristics of the worker, such as industry, occupation, union membership, and earnings, are sometimes reported by a household member other than the worker. Consequently, such data may reflect reporting error by the respondent. Moreover, in some cases, respondents might erroneously report "take home" pay rather than gross earnings, or may round up or down from actual earnings. For a general discussion of the quality of employment data from the CPS, see the Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error section of any issue of Employment and Earnings, published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by selected characteristics (Numbers in thousands) 1995 Members of unions(1) Characteristic Total employed Total Percent of employed 1996 Represented by unions(2) Total Percent of employed Members of unions(1) Total employed Total Percent of employed Represented by unions(2) Total Percent of employed SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over................... 110,038 16 to 24 years............................ 18,205 25 years and over......................... 91,833 25 to 34 years........................... 29,761 35 to 44 years........................... 29,800 45 to 54 years........................... 20,623 16,360 1,022 15,337 3,596 5,254 4,483 14.9 5.6 16.7 12.1 17.6 21.7 18,346 1,199 17,148 4,090 5,883 4,964 16.7 6.6 18.7 13.7 19.7 24.1 111,960 18,106 93,854 29,564 30,619 21,641 16,269 991 15,278 3,536 5,132 4,626 14.5 5.5 16.3 12.0 16.8 21.4 18,158 1,146 17,012 3,994 5,716 5,106 16.2 6.3 18.1 13.5 18.7 23.6 55 to 64 years........................... 65 years and over........................ 9,202 2,448 1,801 203 19.6 8.3 1,980 231 21.5 9.4 9,527 2,503 1,795 189 18.8 7.5 1,984 211 20.8 8.4 Men, 16 years and over.................... 16 to 24 years........................... 25 years and over........................ 25 to 34 years.......................... 35 to 44 years.......................... 45 to 54 years.......................... 55 to 64 years.......................... 65 years and over....................... 57,669 9,531 48,137 16,094 15,505 10,521 4,779 1,238 9,929 640 9,289 2,220 3,169 2,679 1,117 105 17.2 6.7 19.3 13.8 20.4 25.5 23.4 8.5 10,868 721 10,146 2,469 3,460 2,885 1,209 123 18.8 7.6 21.1 15.3 22.3 27.4 25.3 9.9 58,473 9,392 49,080 15,930 15,921 10,936 4,978 1,315 9,859 627 9,232 2,205 3,100 2,739 1,079 109 16.9 6.7 18.8 13.8 19.5 25.0 21.7 8.3 10,761 709 10,052 2,434 3,368 2,960 1,166 124 18.4 7.5 20.5 15.3 21.2 27.1 23.4 9.5 Women, 16 years and over.................. 16 to 24 years........................... 25 years and over........................ 25 to 34 years.......................... 35 to 44 years.......................... 45 to 54 years.......................... 55 to 64 years.......................... 65 years and over....................... 52,369 8,673 43,696 13,667 14,295 10,101 4,423 1,210 6,430 382 6,048 1,377 2,085 1,804 685 98 12.3 4.4 13.8 10.1 14.6 17.9 15.5 8.1 7,479 478 7,001 1,621 2,423 2,078 771 108 14.3 5.5 16.0 11.9 16.9 20.6 17.4 8.9 53,488 8,714 44,773 13,634 14,698 10,705 4,549 1,187 6,410 364 6,046 1,331 2,032 1,887 716 80 12.0 4.2 13.5 9.8 13.8 17.6 15.7 6.7 7,397 437 6,960 1,560 2,349 2,146 818 87 13.8 5.0 15.5 11.4 16.0 20.0 18.0 7.3 White, 16 years and over.................. Men..................................... Women................................... 92,760 49,162 43,598 13,149 8,178 4,971 14.2 16.6 11.4 14,747 8,960 5,787 15.9 18.2 13.3 94,306 49,961 44,345 13,232 8,216 5,016 14.0 16.4 11.3 14,761 8,961 5,800 15.7 17.9 13.1 Black, 16 years and over.................. Men..................................... Women................................... 12,644 6,005 6,639 2,519 1,353 1,167 19.9 22.5 17.6 2,819 1,460 1,358 22.3 24.3 20.5 12,909 6,031 6,878 2,441 1,303 1,138 18.9 21.6 16.5 2,733 1,428 1,305 21.2 23.7 19.0 Hispanic origin, 16 years and over........ Men..................................... Women................................... 10,401 6,223 4,178 1,357 871 486 13.0 14.0 11.6 1,535 969 565 14.8 15.6 13.5 10,800 6,455 4,345 1,394 881 513 12.9 13.7 11.8 1,573 971 602 14.6 15.0 13.9 89,282 20,550 14,790 1,537 16.6 7.5 16,531 1,781 18.5 8.7 90,918 20,810 14,762 1,477 16.2 7.1 16,429 1,697 18.1 8.2 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS(3) Full-time workers......................... Part-time workers......................... 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. Table 2. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation and selected characteristics 1995 Characteristic Total 1996 Members Repreof sented unionsby (1) unions(2) Nonunion Total Members Repreof sented unionsby (1) unions(2) Nonunion SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over................... 16 to 24 years............................ 25 years and over......................... 25 to 34 years........................... 35 to 44 years........................... 45 to 54 years........................... 55 to 64 years........................... 65 years and over........................ $479 292 510 451 550 582 514 389 $602 375 613 542 621 665 614 509 $598 373 610 534 619 663 614 506 $447 287 486 433 520 536 482 362 $490 298 520 463 559 594 535 384 $615 371 625 554 636 687 620 510 $610 362 621 548 632 686 616 510 $462 294 498 447 530 552 505 367 Men, 16 years and over.................... 16 to 24 years........................... 25 years and over........................ 25 to 34 years.......................... 35 to 44 years.......................... 45 to 54 years.......................... 55 to 64 years.......................... 65 years and over....................... 538 303 588 490 624 685 623 441 640 388 654 583 665 705 655 615 638 388 652 579 663 706 659 619 507 298 563 475 612 670 607 400 557 307 599 499 632 698 643 477 653 375 669 591 683 718 667 589 651 369 668 587 683 721 664 593 520 303 580 485 617 682 633 424 Women, 16 years and over.................. 16 to 24 years........................... 25 years and over........................ 25 to 34 years.......................... 35 to 44 years.......................... 45 to 54 years.......................... 406 275 428 403 453 464 527 349 539 492 553 595 523 345 536 488 552 593 386 272 408 393 427 423 418 284 444 415 463 481 549 358 560 497 561 620 543 339 555 495 556 616 398 280 420 405 439 445 55 to 64 years.......................... 65 years and over....................... 403 353 501 435 501 425 383 333 420 334 524 417 523 413 395 321 White, 16 years and over.................. Men..................................... Women................................... 494 566 415 621 661 551 616 658 546 466 526 395 506 580 428 635 675 572 630 673 564 480 544 408 Black, 16 years and over.................. Men..................................... Women................................... 383 411 355 503 526 473 500 526 468 348 374 325 387 412 362 507 526 485 502 522 480 356 380 336 Hispanic origin, 16 years and over........ Men..................................... Women................................... 329 350 305 499 528 423 493 523 419 311 321 291 339 356 316 484 511 436 482 511 433 319 330 305 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX 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 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. Table 3. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry (Numbers in thousands) 1995 Members of unions(1) Occupation and industry Total employed Total Percent of employed 1996 Represented by unions(2) Total Percent of employed Members of unions(1) Total employed Total Percent of employed Represented by unions(2) Total Percent of employed OCCUPATION Managerial and professional specialty....... 29,827 4,116 13.8 4,909 16.5 30,942 4,196 13.6 4,977 16.1 Executive, administrative, and managerial. Professional specialty.................... 13,840 15,987 804 3,312 5.8 20.7 1,017 3,892 7.4 24.3 14,263 16,679 785 3,410 5.5 20.4 1,005 3,972 7.0 23.8 Technical, sales, and administrative support Technicians and related support........... Sales occupations......................... Administrative support, including clerical 33,842 3,795 12,427 17,620 3,364 448 561 2,355 9.9 11.8 4.5 13.4 3,883 526 651 2,706 11.5 13.9 5.2 15.4 34,187 3,828 12,658 17,701 3,231 409 541 2,281 9.5 10.7 4.3 12.9 3,742 492 616 2,634 10.9 12.8 4.9 14.9 Service occupations......................... Protective service........................ Service, except protective service........ 15,648 2,236 13,412 2,112 900 1,213 13.5 40.2 9.0 2,356 978 1,378 15.1 43.7 10.3 15,897 2,154 13,743 2,103 852 1,251 13.2 39.5 9.1 2,331 909 1,421 14.7 42.2 10.3 Precision production, craft, and repair..... 11,563 2,692 23.3 2,866 24.8 11,615 2,648 22.8 2,804 24.1 Operators, fabricators, and laborers........ Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors............................... Transportation and material moving occupations.............................. Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers................................. 17,304 3,983 23.0 4,229 24.4 17,428 4,000 23.0 4,201 24.1 7,639 1,780 23.3 1,892 24.8 7,584 1,752 23.1 1,838 24.2 4,736 1,224 25.9 1,294 27.3 4,862 1,243 25.6 1,313 27.0 4,929 978 19.9 1,044 21.2 4,981 1,005 20.2 1,050 21.1 Farming, forestry, and fishing.............. 1,855 91 4.9 104 5.6 1,892 92 4.9 104 5.5 INDUSTRY Agricultural wage and salary workers........ Private nonagricultural wage and salary workers.................................... Mining.................................... Construction.............................. 1,575 33 2.1 43 2.7 1,710 32 1.9 37 2.2 90,121 609 5,135 9,400 84 908 10.4 13.8 17.7 10,318 88 963 11.4 14.4 18.8 92,059 538 5,387 9,385 76 994 10.2 14.1 18.5 10,293 81 1,033 11.2 15.0 19.2 Manufacturing............................. Durable goods........................... Nondurable goods........................ 19,520 11,424 8,096 3,440 2,153 1,286 17.6 18.8 15.9 3,657 2,286 1,371 18.7 20.0 16.9 19,653 11,642 8,011 3,387 2,157 1,230 17.2 18.5 15.4 3,603 2,282 1,320 18.3 19.6 16.5 Transportation and public utilities....... Transportation.......................... Communications and public utilities..... 6,573 3,957 2,616 1,792 1,065 726 27.3 26.9 27.8 1,911 1,118 793 29.1 28.3 30.3 6,623 4,006 2,617 1,757 1,080 677 26.5 27.0 25.9 1,873 1,136 737 28.3 28.4 28.2 Wholesale and retail trade................ Wholesale trade......................... Retail trade............................ 23,028 4,251 18,777 1,401 283 1,118 6.1 6.6 6.0 1,550 319 1,231 6.7 7.5 6.6 23,638 4,357 19,280 1,331 271 1,059 5.6 6.2 5.5 1,471 292 1,179 6.2 6.7 6.1 Finance, insurance, and real estate....... Services.................................. 6,745 28,511 139 1,636 2.1 5.7 173 1,976 2.6 6.9 6,863 29,357 168 1,672 2.4 5.7 210 2,024 3.1 6.9 Government workers.......................... 18,342 6,926 37.8 7,985 43.5 18,191 6,852 37.7 7,827 43.0 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 self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated although they technically qualify as wage and salary workers. Table 4. Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and industry 1995 Occupation and industry Total 1996 Members Repreof sented unionsby (1) unions(2) Nonunion Total Members Repreof sented unionsby (1) unions(2) Nonunion OCCUPATION Managerial and professional specialty....... Executive, administrative, and managerial. Professional specialty.................... $703 684 718 $745 727 750 $737 722 741 $694 681 707 $718 699 730 $758 742 762 $749 745 750 $708 694 721 Technical, sales, and administrative support Technicians and related support........... Sales occupations......................... Administrative support, including clerical 426 558 454 399 522 629 457 517 516 619 466 510 414 542 453 383 441 573 474 405 532 664 451 524 524 661 459 516 427 554 475 389 Service occupations......................... Protective service........................ Service, except protective service........ 299 528 274 484 678 366 477 676 359 275 399 264 305 538 283 490 693 379 484 686 379 282 413 271 Precision production, craft, and repair..... 519 688 684 478 540 703 698 494 Operators, fabricators, and laborers........ Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors............................... Transportation and material moving occupations.............................. Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and 380 524 519 338 391 528 522 353 368 509 504 328 380 512 508 345 476 612 606 420 476 610 601 425 laborers................................. 319 480 473 297 330 481 477 308 Farming, forestry, and fishing.............. 287 404 404 280 294 439 423 288 INDUSTRY Agricultural wage and salary workers........ Private nonagricultural wage and salary workers.................................... Mining.................................... Construction.............................. 291 (3) (3) 289 306 (3) (3) 305 462 667 487 $573 684 741 $567 682 730 443 663 442 475 693 504 $584 698 748 $579 699 742 458 690 464 Manufacturing............................. Durable goods........................... Nondurable goods........................ 494 517 454 548 576 506 544 573 504 479 503 438 507 533 466 560 588 510 558 587 507 494 517 453 Transportation and public utilities....... Transportation.......................... Communications and public utilities..... 590 523 675 676 659 690 673 651 690 545 488 661 596 527 693 680 656 707 676 649 705 555 491 684 Wholesale and retail trade................ Wholesale trade......................... Retail trade............................ 370 492 333 466 541 425 454 524 419 363 489 325 380 503 343 450 566 408 444 551 408 375 500 338 Finance, insurance, and real estate....... Services.................................. Government workers.......................... 501 444 575 477 489 638 490 491 633 502 440 500 521 456 592 534 501 657 533 498 651 520 451 519 1 2 who 3 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract. 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.