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Article

3 Feb 2025

Author:
Reuters

USA: Union membership at record low, and likely to decrease further as Trump administration pushes deregulation and rolls back labour protections

"US labor union membership slips in 2024 to record low"

U.S. union membership levels declined slightly to record lows last year, a government report said on Tuesday, and now organized labor faces fresh challenges from President Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Some 9.9% of American workers were represented by unions, down from 10% in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in an annual release.

Just over 14 million U.S. workers were members of unions in a total work force of 145 million, the report noted in a release that also said that the union membership rate for government workers was five times higher than for private sector workers.

...American labor unions have been in decline for decades as much manufacturing moved overseas or automated and as organizing grew more difficult in some parts of the nation.

The report noted that those who are in unions are paid better than others, with non-union workers having median weekly earnings that were 85% of organized workers.

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