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Today's Labor Force

Union Membership



In 2005, 12.5% of American workers were union members, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Union Members in 2005 (January 20, 2006). This figure represented a dramatic decline from the early 1970s, when nearly one-quarter of wage and salary workers in the United States belonged to a union. According to Barry T. Hirsch and David A. Macpherson in the Union Membership and Coverage Database ("Union Membership, Coverage, Density, and Employment among All Wage and Salary Workers, 1973–2004," 2005, http://www.unionstats.com/), 24% of workers were union members in 1973, with membership declining rapidly during the 1980s to 16.1% by 1990, and the downward trend has continued into the early 2000s.



It should be noted that a worker might be represented by a union in contract negotiations but not be a dues-paying member. In a "right-to-work" state a worker is allowed to join a unionized company and not be forced to join the union. By law, the nonunion worker, working in a unionized company, must benefit from any union contract. Unions represented 13.7% of wage and salary TABLE 1.12 Poverty status and work experience by weeks in labor force, 2003 "Table 1. People in the Labor Force: Poverty Status and Work Experience by Weeks in the Labor Force, 2003," in A Profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)employees in 2005; that is, 13.7% of workers held jobs that were covered by a union contract whether or not the employees were affiliated with the union personally. (See Table 1.24.)

TABLE 1.12
Poverty status and work experience by weeks in the labor force, 2003
[Numbers in thousands]
Poverty status and work experience Total in the labor force 27 weeks or more in the labor force
Total 50 to 52 weeks
*Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force.
Note: Data refer to people 16 years and older. Data for 2003, which were collected in the 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2004 of revised population controls used in the survey.
SOURCE: "Table 1. People in the Labor Force: Poverty Status and Work Experience by Weeks in the Labor Force, 2003," in A Profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)
    Total
Total in labor force 153,448 140,007 126,758
    Did not work during the year 2,759 1,366 1,211
    Worked during the year 150,689 138,641 125,547
       Usual full-time workers 120,325 115,498 107,829
       Usual part-time workers 30,364 23,143 17,717
           Involuntary part-time workers 5,257 4,369 3,602
           Voluntary part-time workers 25,108 18,773 14,115
At or above poverty level
Total in labor force 143,573 132,578 120,660
    Did not work during the year 1,677 812 714
    Worked during the year 141,897 131,766 119,946
       Usual full-time workers 115,040 111,080 104,081
       Usual part-time workers 26,857 20,686 15,866
           Involuntary part-time workers 4,100 3,451 2,864
           Voluntary part-time workers 22,756 17,235 13,001
Below poverty level
Total in labor force 9,875 7,429 6,097
    Did not work during the year 1,082 554 497
    Worked during the year 8,792 6,875 5,600
       Usual full-time workers 5,285 4,419 3,749
       Usual part-time workers 3.508 2,456 1,851
           Involuntary part-time workers 1,156 918 728
           Voluntary part-time workers 2,352 1,538 1,113
Rate*
Total in labor force 6.4 5.3 4.8
    Did not work during the year 39.2 40.5 41.1
    Worked during the year 5.8 5.0 4.5
       Usual full-time workers 4.4 3.8 3.5
       Usual part-time workers 11.6 10.6 10.5
           Involuntary part-time workers 22.0 21.0 20.5
           Voluntary part-time workers 9.4 8.2 7.9

Studies have established that the recession of the early 1980s, the movement of jobs overseas, the decline in traditionally unionized heavy industry, and other factors contributed to a general decline in union membership that has been documented in data comparable from year to year since 1983. In a strategy that was counter to past contract negotiations, many unions in the 1980s agreed to "give backs" (surrendering existing benefits) and lower salaries in exchange for job guarantees. Nonetheless, movement of jobs from the United States to other countries continued, which resulted in fewer jobs for American workers and more plant closings, and prompted more aggressive recruitments of members by unions during the 1990s. As of 2006, leading labor unions in the United States included:

  • AFL-CIO—Formed in 1955 by the merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organization, by 2006 the AFL-CIO represented about nine million American workers in fifty-four affiliated unions, ranging from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) to the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC).
  • American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)—Boasting membership of 1.4 million in 2006, the nation's largest union of public service employees was founded during the Great Depression of the 1930s to protect the rights of state and local government employees.
  • American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—Representing the economic, social, and professional interests of classroom teachers since 1916, the AFT included 3,000 local affiliates and 1.3 million members in 2006.
  • Communications Workers of America (CWA)—Growing out of the telephone industry in the early part of the twentieth century, the CWA is the nation's largest communications and media union with more than 700,000 members in such sectors as telecommunications, broadcasting, cable TV, journalism, publishing, and electronics.
  • United Auto Workers (UAW)—With 640,000 active and 500,000 retired members in 2006, the UAW protects the rights of automobile and aeronautics workers, and since 1935 has won such landmark concessions as employer-paid health care and cost-of-living allowances.
  • United Mine Workers of America—The United Mine Workers has won several hard-fought battles to ensure fair compensation, health care, and safety standards in the mining industry since the union's inception in 1890.
  • United Steelworkers of America (USWA)—Formed in 1936 in an effort to organize the labor movement within the North American steel industry, the USWA had 1.2 million active and retired members in 2006.

TABLE 1.13 Poverty status by age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2003 "Table 2. People in the Labor Force for 27 Weeks or More: Poverty Status by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2003," in A profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)

TABLE 1.13
Poverty status by age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2003
[Numbers in thousands]
Age and sex Total White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Below poverty level Ratea
Total White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Total White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
aNumber below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labaor force for 27 weeks or more.
bData not shown where base is less than 80,00.
Note: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, people whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data efer to people 16 years and older. Data for 2003 which were collected in the 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earliler years because of the introduction in January 2004 of revised population controls used in the survey.
SOURCE: "Table 2. People in the Labor Force for 27 Weeks or More: Poverty Status by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2003," in A profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)
    Total, 16 years and older 140,007 115,359 15,605 5,817 17,743 7,429 5,329 1,564 280 1,935 5.3 4.6 10.0 4.8 10.9
16 to 19 years 4,215 3,550 410 106 574 396 288 85 6 68 9.4 8.1 20.7 5.8 11.9
20 to 24 years 13,277 10,788 1,632 408 2,387 1,334 922 321 34 264 10.0 8.5 19.7 8.2 11.1
25 to34 years 30,961 24,722 3,821 1,553 5,559 2,180 1,560 482 56 757 7.0 6.3 12.6 3.6 13.6
35 to 44 years 35,318 28,584 4,314 1,619 4,685 1,872 1,369 365 81 532 5.3 4.8 8.5 5.0 11.4
45 to 54 years 33,270 27,872 3,470 1,315 2,937 1,031 727 202 76 207 3.1 2.6 5.8 5.8 7.1
55 to 64 years 17,847 15,293 1,579 699 1,280 514 387 92 23 89 2.9 2.5 5.8 3.4 7.0
65 years and older 5,118 4,550 378 116 322 102 77 17 4 17 2.0 1.7 4.5 3.9 5.2
Men, 16 years and older 75,301 63,179 7,205 3,116 10,749 3,539 2,763 516 114 1,171 4.7 4.4 7.2 4.5 10.9
16 to 19 years 2,157 1,807 221 50 331 187 131 42 4 41 8.7 7.2 19.1 b 12.3
20 to 24 years 7,091 5,894 778 192 1,482 555 416 97 20 133 7.8 7.1 12.4 10.3 9.0
25 to 34 years 17,096 14,016 1,721 870 3,563 1,072 875 141 17 488 6.3 6.2 8.2 1.9 13.7
35 to 44 years 19,168 15,849 1,968 911 2,804 901 722 112 46 333 4.7 4.6 5.7 5.0 11.9
45 to 54 years 17,433 14,834 1,599 678 1,646 542 404 81 42 126 3.1 2.7 5.1 6.2 7.7
55 to 64 years 9,506 8,253 721 382 735 232 180 33 12 41 2.4 2.2 4.6 3.2 5.6
65 years and older 2,839 2,525 196 81 187 50 36 9 4 9 1.8 1.4 4.8 4.7 4.6
Women, 16 years and older 64,706 52,180 8,399 2,651 6,995 3,889 2,566 1,048 136 764 6.0 4.9 12.5 5.1 10.9
16 to 19 years 2,057 1,742 188 56 243 209 157 43 2 27 10.1 9.0 22.6 b 11.3
20 to 24 years 6,185 4,894 854 216 905 779 506 224 14 131 12.6 10.3 26.3 6.4 14.4
25 to 34 years 13,865 10,706 2,100 683 1.995 1,108 685 341 39 269 8.0 6.4 16.2 5.8 13.5
35 to 44 years 16,150 12,735 2,346 708 1,881 971 647 253 35 199 6.0 5.1 10.8 4.9 10.6
45 to 54 years 15,828 13,038 1,870 637 1,291 489 323 120 34 81 3.1 2.5 6.4 5.3 6.3
55 to 64 yuears 8,341 7,040 858 316 545 282 207 59 11 48 3.4 2.9 6.9 3.6 8.7
65 years and older 2,279 2,025 182 35 135 52 41 8 1 8 2.3 2.0 4.1 b 6.1

TABLE 1.14 Poverty status by educational attainment, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2003 "Table 3. People in the Labor Force for 27 Weeks or More: Poverty Status by Educational Attainment, Race, Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, and Sex, 2003." In A Profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)

TABLE 1.14
Poverty status by educational attainment, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2003
[Numbers in thousands]
Educational attainment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Below poverty level Ratea
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
aNumber below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
bIncludes people with a high school diploma or equivalent.
cIncludes people with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
dData not shown where base is less than 80,000.
Note: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, people whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data refer to people 16 years and older. Data for 2003, which were collected in the 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2004 of revised population controls used in the survey. Dash represents or rounds to zero.
SOURCE: "Table 3. People in the Labor Force for 27 Weeks or More: Poverty Status by Educational Attainment, Race, Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, and Sex, 2003." In A Profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)
   Total, 16 years and older 140,007 75,301 64,706 7,429 3,539 3,889 5.3 4.7 6.0
Less than a high school diploma 15,994 10,024 5,970 2,254 1,273 981 14.1 12.7 16.4
   Less than 1 year of high school 4,879 3,330 1,549 859 585 274 17.6 17.6 17.7
   1-3 years of high school 9,404 5,642 3,762 1,205 586 618 12.8 10.4 16.4
   4 year of high school, no diploma 1,711 1,052 659 191 102 89 11.1 9.7 13.5
High school graduates, no collegeb 42,687 23,373 19,314 2,647 1,201 1,445 6.2 5.1 7.5
Some college or associate degree 40,347 19,937 20,417 1,817 692 1,125 4.5 3.5 5.5
   Some college, no degree 27,568 13,961 13,607 1,408 538 870 5.1 3.9 6.4
   Associate degree 12,779 5,977 6,803 409 154 255 3.2 2.6 3.7
Bachelor's degree and higherc 40,979 21,967 19,012 711 373 338 1.7 1.7 1.8
White, 16 years and older 115,359 63,179 52,180 5,329 2,763 2,566 4.6 4.4 4.9
Less than a high school diploma 12,871 8,370 4,501 1,641 1,016 624 12.7 12.1 13.9
   Less than 1 year of high school 4,165 2,906 1,258 730 510 220 17.5 17.5 17.5
   1-3 years of high school 7,422 4,629 2,793 809 449 360 10.9 9.7 12.9
   4 year of high school, no diploma 1,285 835 450 102 58 44 8.0 7.0 9.8
High school graduates, no collegeb 34,921 19,417 15,504 1,846 911 935 5.3 4.7 6.0
Some college or sociate degree 33,261 16,745 16,516 1,281 525 756 3.9 3.1 4.6
   Some college, no degree 22,585 11,662 10,923 995 417 577 4.4 3.6 5.3
   Associate degree 10,676 5,083 5,593 286 108 178 2.7 2.1 3.2
Bachelor's degree and higherc 34,305 18,646 15,659 562 311 251 1.6 1.7 1.6
Black or African American, 16 years and older 15,605 7,205 8,399 1,564 516 1,048 10.0 7.2 12.5
Less than a high school diploma 2,038 1,025 1,014 457 173 284 22.4 16.9 28.0
   Less than 1 year of high school 313 185 128 44 22 21 13.9 12.1 16.6
   1-3 years of high school 1,412 686 726 333 109 224 23.6 15.9 30.9
   4 year of high school, no diploma 313 154 159 80 42 38 25.6 27.0 24.1
High school graduates, no collegeb 5,716 2,860 2,856 658 212 446 11.5 7.4 15.6
Some college or associate degree 4,759 2,012 2,747 392 112 280 8.2 5.6 10.2
   Some college, no degree 3,440 1,490 1,950 312 86 226 9.1 5.8 11.6
   Associate degree 1,319 522 797 79 26 53 6.0 5.0 6.7
Bachelor's degree and higherc 3,092 1,309 1,783 57 19 38 1.9 1.4 2.1
Asian, 16 years and older 5,817 3,166 2,651 280 144 136 4.8 4.5 5.1
Less than a high school diploma 525 282 243 69 40 29 13.0 14.1 11.8
   Less than 1 year of high school 239 124 114 54 36 18 22.8 29.1 16.0
   1-3 year of high school 230 123 107 13 3 10 5.8 2.5 9.6
   4 year of high school, no diploma 56 35 22 1 1 d d d
High school graduates, no collegeb 1,117 564 554 73 40 33 6.5 7.1 5.9
Some college or associate degree 1,204 604 600 62 24 38 5.1 4.0 6.3
   Some college, no degree 759 399 360 44 18 27 5.8 4.4 7.4
   Associate degree 445 204 240 18 7 11 4.0 3.2 4.6
Bachelor's degree and higherc 2,970 1,716 1,254 77 40 37 2.6 2.3 3.0
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and older 17,743 10,749 6,995 1,935 1.171 764 10.9 10.9 10.9
Less than a high school diploma 6,465 4,443 2,022 1,110 726 384 17.2 16.3 19.0
   Less than 1 year of high school 3,369 2,390 979 635 449 186 18.8 18.8 19.0
   1-3 year of high school 2,565 1,694 871 401 228 174 15.7 13.5 19.9
   4 year of high school, no diploma 531 359 172 73 49 25 13.8 13.5 14.4
High school graduates, no collegeb 5,215 3,087 2,127 500 277 224 9.6 9.0 10.5
Some college or associate degree 3,932 2,069 1,863 248 116 132 6.3 5.6 7.1
   Some college, no degree 2,875 1,554 1,321 189 90 100 6.6 5.8 7.6
   Associate degree 1,057 516 541 59 27 32 5.6 5.2 6.0
   Bachelor's degree and higherc 2,132 1,149 983 77 53 24 3.6 4.6 2.4

TABLE 1.15 Poverty status by occupation of longest job held, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2003

TABLE 1.15
Poverty status by occupation of longest job held, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2003
[Numbers in thousands]
Occupation, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Below poverty level Ratea
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
 Total, 16 years and olderb 140,007 75,301 64,706 7,429 3,539 3,889 5.3 4.7 6.0
Management, professional, and related occupations 47,379 23,638 23,741 931 401 530 2.0 1.7 2.2
   Management, business, and financial operations occupations 20,011 11,512 8,499 402 220 183 2.0 1.9 2.1
   Professional and related occupations 27,368 12,126 15,242 529 181 348 1.9 1.5 2.3
Service occupations 21,051 9,208 11,843 2,238 747 1,490 10.6 8.1 12.6
Sales and office occupations 34,539 12,770 21,769 1,571 520 1,052 4.5 4.1 4.8
    Sales and related occupations 15,372 8,194 7,178 922 321 601 6.0 3.9 8.4
    Office and administrative support occupations 19,168 4,576 14,592 650 198 451 3.4 4.3 3.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 14,325 13,714 611 936 867 69 6.5 6.3 11.3
    Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 918 741 177 134 101 33 14.6 13.6 18.9
    Construction and extraction occupations 8,388 8,186 201 605 578 26 7.2 7.1 13.1
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 5,020 4,787 234 198 188 10 3.9 3.9 4.1
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 18,080 13,910 4,169 1,082 739 343 6.0 5.3 8.2
    Production occupations 9,585 6,726 2,859 521 310 212 5.4 4.6 7.4
    Transportation and material moving occupations 8,495 7,185 1,310 560 429 131 6.6 6.0 10.0
White, 16 years and olderb 115,359 63,179 52,180 5,329 2,763 2,566 4.6 4.4 4.9
Management, professional, and related occupations 40,092 20,334 19,758 735 341 394 1.8 1.7 2.0
   Mangement, business, and financial operations occupations 17,470 10,301 7,169 369 199 170 2.1 1.9 2.4
   Professional and related occupations 22,622 10,033 12,589 366 142 224 1.6 1.4 1.8
Service occupations 15,939 7,091 8,848 1,443 535 908 9.1 7.5 10.3
Sales and office occupations 28,605 10,688 17,938 1,083 385 698 3.8 3.6 3.9
    Sales and related occupations 13,074 7,112 5,961 655 247 407 5.0 3.5 6.8
    Office and administrative support occupations 15,532 3,555 11,976 429 138 290 2.8 3.9 2.4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 12,674 12,163 510 814 759 55 6.4 6.2 10.7
   Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 798 642 156 115 86 28 14.4 13.5 18.1
    Construction and extraction occupations 7,526 7,354 172 522 503 19 6.9 6.8 11.2
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 4.350 4,168 182 177 170 7 4.1 4.1 3.9
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 14,418 11,314 3,104 799 569 230 5.5 5.0 7.4
    Production occupations 7,678 5,571 2,107 394 243 151 5.1 4.4 7.2
    Transportation and material moving occupations 6,740 5,742 997 405 327 79 6.0 5.7 7.9
Black or African American, 16 years and olderb 15,605 7,205 8,399 1,564 516 1.048 10.0 7.2 12.5
Management, professional, and related occupations 3,884 1,447 2,437 133 30 104 3.4 2.1 4.3
   Management, business, and financial operations occupations 1,326 546 780 20 14 6 1.5 2.5 .7
   Professional and related occupations 2,558 901 1,657 114 16 98 4.4 1.8 5.9
Service occupations 3,649 1,444 2,204 634 149 485 17.4 10.3 22.0
Sales and office occupations 3.850 1,227 2,623 357 87 270 9.3 7.1 10.3
    Sales and related occupations 1,341 558 782 194 43 151 14.5 7.6 19.4
    Office and administrative support occupations 2,510 669 1,841 163 44 118 6.5 6.6 6.4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 1,013 939 74 80 69 11 7.9 7.3 15.4
    Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 61 49 12 14 12 2 c c c
    Construction and extraction occupations 563 538 25 57 50 7 10.1 9.3 26.2
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 389 352 37 9 7 3 2.3 1.9 c
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 2,546 1,843 703 189 111 78 7.4 6.0 11.1
    Production occupations 1,140 684 456 68 33 35 6.0 4.9 7.6
    Transprotation and material moving occupations 1,406 1,159 247 121 78 44 8.6 6.7 17.6

Industry and Occupation

Among the private nonagricultural industries, transportation and utilities had the highest unionization rate in 2005, with the utilities subsector registering 27.4% union membership, followed by transportation and warehousing (23.4%). In 2005, 21.4% of telecommunications workers belonged to a union, as did 15% of those in motion pictures and sound recording and 13.3% of workers in durable goods manufacturing. Conversely, in the financial sector, only 2.3% of workers were unionized in 2005, as were 2.7% of agricultural workers, 2.7% of workers in TABLE 1.15 Poverty status by occupation of longest job held, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2003 [CONTINUED] "Table 4. People in the Labor Force for 27 Weeks or More Who Worked during the Year: Poverty Status by Occupation of Longest Job Held, Race, Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, and Sex, 2003," in A Profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)the professional and business services sector, and 3.1% of leisure and hospitality workers. (See Table 1.25.)

TABLE 1.15
Poverty status by occupation of longest job held, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2003 [CONTINUED]
[Numbers in thousands]
Occupation, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Total Men Women Below poverty level Ratea
Total Men Women Total Men Women
aNumber below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more who worked during the year.
bIncludes a small number of people whose last job was in the armed forces.
Data not shown where base is less than 80,000.
Note: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, people whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data refer to people 16 years and older. Data for 2003, which were collected in the 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2004 of revised population controls used in the survey. Dash represents or rounds to zero.
SOURCE: "Table 4. People in the Labor Force for 27 Weeks or More Who Worked during the Year: Poverty Status by Occupation of Longest Job Held, Race, Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, and Sex, 2003," in A Profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)
Asian, 16 years and olderb 5,817 3,166 2,651 280 144 136 4.8 4.5 5.1
Management, professional, and related occupations 2,546 1,454 1,092 39 24 16 12 1.6 1.4
   Management, business, and financial operations occupations 869 483 386 8 5 3 .9 1.1 .7
   Professional and related occupations 1,676 971 706 31 18 13 1.9 1.9 1.9
Service occupations 865 388 477 87 34 53 10.1 8.8 11.1
Sales and office occupations 1,322 612 710 67 31 37 5.1 5.0 5.2
    Sales and related occupations 666 381 285 45 23 22 6.8 6.0 7.7
    Office and administrative support occupations 656 231 425 22 8 15 3.4 3.3 3.4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 223 212 10 13 13 6.0 6.3
    Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 16 11 4 c c
    Construction and extraction occupations 68 68 9 9 12.9 12.9
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 139 133 6 5 5 3.3 3.5 6.9
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 669 424 245 50 33 17 7.5 7.8 6.6
    Production occupations 520 305 215 35 21 14 6.7 6.8 c
    Transportation and material moving occupations 150 119 31 15 12 3 10.2 10.4 10.9
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 16 years and olderb 17,743 10,749 6,995 1,935 1,171 764 10.9 10.9 3.4
Management, professional, and related occupations 2,831 1,373 1,459 89 40 49 3.1 2.9 3.8
   Mangement, business, and financial operations occupations 1,192 668 524 44 24 20 3.7 3.5 3.1
   Professional and related occupations 1,640 704 935 45 16 29 2.8 2.3 3.8
Service occupations 4,005 2,102 1,902 604 293 311 15.1 13.9 16.4
Sales and office occupations 3,625 1,419 2,206 281 114 167 7.7 8.0 7.6
    Sales and related occupations 1,537 769 768 154 61 93 10.0 7.9 12.2
    Office and administrative support occupations 2,088 650 1,438 126 53 74 6.0 8.1 5.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 3,097 2,947 150 417 392 26 13.5 13.3 17.1
   Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 385 292 93 87 65 22 22.6 22.4 23.0
    Construction and extraction occupations 2,031 2,000 31 263 258 4 12.9 12.9 c
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 681 655 26 68 68 10.0 10.4 c
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 3,448 2,606 842 390 276 114 11.3 10.6 13.5
    Production occupations 1,932 1,345 587 211 128 83 10.9 9.5 14.1
    Transportation and material moving occupations 1,516 1,261 255 179 148 31 11.8 11.8 12.1

In regard to occupational groups, the unionization rate for 2005 was highest among those working in education, training, and library services (38.5%), followed by those working in protective service jobs (37%), which include many government workers, such as police officers and firefighters. (See Table 1.25.)

Characteristics of Union Members

Union membership in 2005 was higher among white men (13.4%,) than among white women (10.8%). Furthermore, union membership in 2005 was higher among African-Americans (15.1%) than either whites (12.2%), Asians (11.2%), or Hispanics (10.4%). Black men had the highest rate of union representation (17.7%), while Hispanic men experienced the lowest representation rate (11.5%). (See Table 1.24.)

In 2005 union members garnered a median weekly salary ($801) that was $179 higher than the median weekly salary of those not represented by unions ($622), according to the BLS in Union Members in 2005. The union versus nonunion earnings difference was slightly greater for women than for men. Unionized TABLE 1.16 Poverty status, presence of related children, and work experience of family members in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 2003 "Table 5. Primary Families: Poverty Status, Presence of Related Children, and Work Experience of Family Members in the Labor Force for 27 Weeks or More, 2003," in A Profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)women earned a median weekly paycheck of $731, compared with $559 for women not belonging to or represented by a union, a difference of $172 per week. Men who belonged to a union had median weekly earnings of $857, compared with $692 for nonunion men, a difference of $165 per week. The disparity was greatest for Hispanic workers in 2005. The median weekly earnings of unionized Hispanic workers totaled $673, compared with $449 for nonunionized Hispanic employees, a difference of $224 per week. (See Table 1.26.)

TABLE 1.16
Poverty status, presence of related children, and work experience of family members in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 2003
[Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Total families At or above poverty level Below poverty level Rate*
*Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
Note: Data relate to primary families with at least one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more. Data refer to people 16 years and older. Data for 2003, which were collected in the 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not stricly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2004 of revised population controls used in the survey.
SOURCE: "Table 5. Primary Families: Poverty Status, Presence of Related Children, and Work Experience of Family Members in the Labor Force for 27 Weeks or More, 2003," in A Profile of the Working Poor, 2003, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2005, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf (accessed March 21, 2006)
    Total primary families 63,567 59,400 4,167 6.6
With related children under 18 years 35,917 32,374 3,543 9.9
Without children 27,650 27,026 624 2.3
With one member in the labor force 26,893 23,374 3,519 13.1
With two or more members in the labor force 36,674 36,026 648 1.8
    With two members 31,020 30,407 613 2.0
    With three or more members 5,654 5,620 35 .6
Married-couple families 48,553 46,680 1,872 3.9
With related children under 18 years 26,170 24,663 1,508 5.8
Without children 22,382 22,018 365 1.6
With one member in the labor force 16,357 14,977 1,380 8.4
    Husband 12,250 11,139 1,111 9.1
    Wife 3,489 3,262 227 6.5
    Relative 618 576 42 6.8
With two or more members in the labor force 32,196 31,703 492 1.5
    With two members 27,413 26,944 469 1.7
    With three or more members 4,783 4,759 24 .5
Families maintained by women 10,897 8,982 1,915 17.6
With related children under 18 years 7,563 5,823 1,740 23.0
Without children 3,334 3,159 175 5.3
With one member in the labor force 7,962 6,169 1,793 22.5
    Householder 6,580 5,004 1,577 24.0
    Relative 1,382 1,166 216 15.7
With two or more members in the labor force 2,935 2,813 122 4.2
Families maintained by men 4,117 3,738 380 9.2
With related children under 18 years 2,183 1,888 295 13.5
Without children 1,934 1,850 84 4.3
With one member in the labor force 2,574 2,228 346 13.5
    Householder 2,101 1,816 284 13.5
    Relative 473 411 62 13.1
With two or more members in the labor force 1,543 1,510 33 2.1

OCCUPATIONS AND INDUSTRIES

In nearly all occupations, people represented by unions earned more than those who were not. The differences were small among managerial and professional specialties and much larger among construction and extraction occupations, production, transportation and material moving occupations, and service occupations. With few exceptions, including workers engaged in wholesale trade, financial activities, and professional and business services, employees working in the private sector in 2005 who were represented by a union earned more than their nonunion counterparts. In the public sector, state and local government employees who were represented by a union also earned more than those not represented by a union. However, at the federal government level, nonunion employees earned slightly more, with unionized employees earning a median $873 weekly and nonunion employees receiving $887. The differences in construction, transportation, and local government were particularly large. For example, the weekly median salary of unionized construction workers was $933 in 2005. In contrast, the median salary of non-unionized construction workers in 2005 was $590. (See Table 1.27.)

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