Why union membership declined despite banner year for labor activity

Adam Schultz

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Wikimedia Commons

U.S. workers who belong to a union fell last year to 10%, marking only a slight decline from 10.1% a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But experts say if there was a year to expect the unionization rate to increase, it was 2023, which saw successful walkouts by Hollywood actors and writers, service employees, autoworkers, and healthcare professionals.

This week, Delaware Public Media’s Kyle McKinnon sits down with Jake Rosenfeld – a sociology professor at Washington University-St. Louis who recently wrote about labor union rates – for more on union efforts and membership going forward.