U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Mountain-Plains Information Office

UNION MEMBERSHIP IN COLORADO - 2010

In 2010, the number of workers in Colorado belonging to a union was 140,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that union members accounted for 6.6 percent of wage and salary workers in Colorado in 2010, compared with 7.0 percent in 2009. At its peak in 1990, union membership for the State was 10.5 percent.

Nationally, the number of workers belonging to a union declined by 612,000 to 14,715,000 in 2010. Union members accounted for 11.9 percent of employed wage and salary workers, down from 12.3 percent a year earlier. In 1983, the first year for which comparable national union data were available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent. Colorado's union membership rate has been below the U.S. average every year since state data were first available for comparison in 1989. (See chart 1.)

In addition to Colorado's 140,000 wage and salary workers who were union members in 2010, another 31,000 workers were represented by a union on their main job or were covered by an employee association or contract while not being union members themselves. (See table A.) Nationwide, 14.7 million wage and salary workers were union members in 2010 and about 1.6 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union on their main job but not union members themselves.

In 2010, 31 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 11.9 percent, while 19 states had higher rates. (See table 1.) All states in the Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions reported union membership rates above the national average, and all states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions had rates below the average. (See chart 2.) Union membership rates rose over the year in 17 states and decreased in 33 states (including Colorado) and the District of Columbia.

Eight states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2010. North Carolina posted the lowest rate (3.2 percent), followed by Arkansas and Georgia (4.0 percent each), Louisiana (4.3 percent), Mississippi (4.5 percent), South Carolina and Virginia (4.6 percent each), and Tennessee (4.7 percent). Six states had union membership rates over 17.0 percent in 2010-New York (24.2 percent), Alaska (22.9 percent), Hawaii (21.8 percent), Washington (19.4 percent), California (17.5 percent), and New Jersey (17.1 percent).

State union membership levels depend on both the employment level and union membership rate. About half of the 14.7 million union members in the U.S. lived in just six states (California, 2.4 million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 0.8 million; Pennsylvania, 0.8 million; Ohio, 0.7 million; and New Jersey, 0.6 million), though these states accounted for only one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.

Texas had about one-fourth as many union members as New York, despite having 1.9 million more wage and salary employees. Similarly, Colorado and Kentucky had comparable numbers of union members (140,000 and 147,000, respectively), though Colorado had 488,000 more wage and salary workers (2,130,000) than Kentucky (1,642,000).

Technical note

The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides the basic information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau from a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 households. The union membership and earnings data are tabulated from one-quarter of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded.

Union membership data, particularly for levels, are not strictly comparable with data for earlier years because of the introduction of updated population controls used in the CPS. For technical documentation and related information, including reliability of the CPS estimates, see www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.

For personal assistance or further information on union membership, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Mountain-Plains Information Office at 816-285-7000 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

Definitions

The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below.

Union members. Members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.

Represented by unions.Union members, as well as workers who have no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors, but, for the purposes of the union membership and earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

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Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number (Federal Relay Service): 1-800-877-8339.
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Last Modified Date: February 20, 2013

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