Labor unions are growing, but where depends on state politics

U.S. union membership rose by more than 411,000 last year, the biggest annual gain since 2008, bringing total membership to 14.6 million workers, about 10% of the workforce, according to a study from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois. States that protect collective bargaining added three times as many union members as right-to-work states.

Workers in collective bargaining states earn a cost-of-living-adjusted average of $37.24 an hour versus $34.16 in right-to-work states, the study found. Union density remains far below its 1954 peak of a third of the workforce, and the Trump administration has moved to strip collective bargaining rights from more than 1 million federal workers, a fight now tied up in litigation.

Virginia's Democratic governor vetoed a bill that would have extended bargaining rights to half a million public employees, citing timing and implementation concerns rather than opposition to the goal. A Mercatus Center review argues union power can slow job growth, while researchers note the union wage premium has been shrinking in recent years.

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