September 8, 2009
The percentage of all employed workers who are union members has been slightly higher over the past two years in the United States, despite the worst economic recession in decades, according to a study released here Monday.
The unionization rate in the country has risen almost half a percentage point in the two years since 2006-2007, from 12.0 percent to the current rate of 12.4 percent, found the annual analysis of the labor movement by UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment.
According to "the State of the Unions in 2009," which was released in conjunction with the national holiday of Labor Day, there are about 15.8 million American workers who are currently members of different labor unions.
The UCLA study found that union members in the United States got paid about 20 percent more than non-union workers in 2008-2008,and were far more likely to have access to retirement, medical and paid sick leave benefits than their non-union counterparts.
Citing statistic figures in Los Angles, California and the United States, the report also suggested that the more education works had, the higher their unionization rate tended to be.
However, the study noted that the stable unionization rate over the past two years was against a long-term downward trend, as the figure has suffered serious decline for several decades.
"The Unionization rate in the United States declined steadily for several decades and is now only showing slight increases," said Lauren Appelbaum, research director of UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment and the lead author of the study.
The loss of many private sector jobs during the current economic recession many have contributed to the relative increase in unionized workers, since public sector jobs have higher rates of unionization than does private sector employment, the report said.