California leads gains in union membership
The ranks of union members in California increased by about 250,000 last year to 2.7 million, leading a modest national uptick in unionization, according to a report released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nationwide, 16.1 million workers, or 12.4% of the workforce, belonged to a union in 2008, a gain of 420,000 from the previous year, the report said.
Labor unions and activists said the findings show that Americans want representation in the workplace and used the data to tout the benefits of the Employee Free Choice bill, their top priority for the Obama administration and the new Congress.
“In today’s economy, America’s working men and women need a fair shot at forming a union,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said.
The bill would make it easier for unions to add members by requiring employers to recognize unions when a majority of workers sign union cards. Currently, employers can require secret-ballot union votes by their employees.
Unions say the bill is necessary because too many employers fire and intimidate workers during union drives, killing nascent labor movements. Business leaders counter that the card-signing provision would be equally unfair for employees, who could be subject to harassment and bullying by labor activists.
Most of the union gains last year were in public employment, where unions have remained strong for decades. Representation is still at historical lows in the private sector, where fewer than 1 in 10 Americans is represented by a union, down from about 1 in 3 at the height of the labor movement.
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