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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2014)
Union numbers in United States held steady in 2013 Washington again the fourth-most unionized state, while Oregon drops to 12th Union membership held steady in 2013 at 11.3 percent of the U.S. work- force, according to the latest annual re- port from the Bureau of Labor Statis- tics, a unit of the U.S. Department of Labor. Slight growth in the workforce meant there were 162,000 more union members in 2013 than in 2012, bring- ing total U.S. union membership to a little over 14.5 million. That’s still down quite a bit from 1983 — the first year for which com- parable data are available — when there were 17.7 million union workers, and union members made up 20.1 per- cent of the workforce. But it suggests union membership decline may have slowed or stopped for the time being. Besides union members, another 1.5 million workers were represented by a union but chose not to become mem- bers. That brings the total represented by a union to 16 million, 12.4 percent of the workforce. The union membership figures var- ied by occupation, industry, and by age, gender, and race: • Public sector workers had a union membership rate of 35.3 percent, five times the rate of private sector workers, 6.7 percent. • Unionization was highest in edu- cation, library, and protective services occupations, at 35.3 percent. Other heavily unionized sectors included util- ities at 25.6 percent, transportation and warehousing at 19.6 percent, telecom- munications at 14.4 percent, construc- tion at 14.1 percent, and manufacturing at 10.1 percent. The least unionized in- dustry sectors were agriculture and fi- nance, where only 1.0 percent of work- ers were union members, and food and beverage services, 1.3 percent. Farm- ing, fishing and forestry were the least unionized occupations, at 2.1 percent. • Older workers were up to three times as likely to be union members: Over 15 percent of workers 45 to 64 were union members, compared with 11.0 percent for workers 25 to 34 and 4.8 percent for workers under 25. • Men had slightly higher rates (13.0 percent) than women (11.8 percent.) • Black workers were most likely to be in a union (15.0 percent) compared to whites (12.2 percent), Asians (10.4 percent) and Hispanics (10.3 percent). New York had the highest union membership rate in the nation (24.4 percent), followed by Alaska (23.1 per- cent) and Hawaii (22.1 percent). North Carolina had the lowest rate (3.0 per- cent), followed by Arkansas (3.5 per- cent) and South Carolina and Missis- sippi (3.7 percent). Washington ranked fourth most unionized, at 18.9 percent. Oregon ranked Number 12, at 13.9 percent. That was down from ninth place (15.7 percent) in 2012, and seventh place (17.1 percent) in 2011. Among other neighboring states, California had 16.4 percent, Nevada had 14.6 percent, and Idaho had 4.7 percent. The data on union membership were collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 house- holds covering employment in the civilian non-institutional population. The BLS union membership report is a pretty accurate depiction of trends at the national level, but at the state level, data can be misinterpreted because mi- nor year-to-year fluctuations — partic- ularly in less populous states — may not be statistically significant. Oregon’s percentage in the survey has fluctuated in the last 10 years, with a low of 13.8 percent in 2006 and a high of 17.1 per- cent in 2011. Given that caveat, Oregon’s union membership was estimated at 208,000 in 2013, while Washington had an esti- mated 546,000 union members. The report also showed that union members out-earn nonunion workers, on average. Full-time union workers had median weekly earnings of $950 com- pared to $750 for nonunion workers. The difference was even bigger in some occupations: Median weekly earnings for union construction workers was $1,096, compared to $713 for nonunion. Collective bargaining agreements ac- count for some of the earnings differ- ence, but not all: Union workers are more likely to work in high-wage states and at larger employers, and are some- what more likely to work in higher- wage occupations and industries. In a statement accompanying this year’s report, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said the decline in union membership in recent decades has contributed to more working families E E FR for the BEST flowers call 503-288-5537 1638 NE Broadway, Portland Free classified ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication Published 1st and 3rd Fridays Now accepting e-mails Send to: Michael492@comcast.net Mail to: NWLP, PO Box 13150, Portland OR 97213 (Please include union affiliation) • 15-20 words • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue • All lower case (NO CAPITAL LETTERS, PLEASE) • Ads MUST include area code or they will not be published ’96 HONDA CIVIC, 4cyl, 2dr, black, rebuilt 5spd, new clutch, headlights, timing belt, radiator, battery, $2,800. 541-206-0812 PARTING OUT two ’76 Chev and GMC ½ ton p/u, 2 whd, cheap parts. 503-630-4177 H OUSING ROCKAWAY BEACH rental, 3 bed, 2 bath, sleeps 10, Jacuzzi, 5 min to beach/shops; Vacationhomerentals. com/43026 ROCKAWAY ocean front, 503-777-5076, 5 bdrms/2 ba, call for Fisherman’s Special, http://rockawaybeachfrontrental.com 100 ACRES, trees, wildlife, will carry con- tract, Spray Oregon, $750 per acre obo. 541-468-2961 W ANTED OLD WOODWORKING tools, planes, lev- els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes, wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools, tool chests. 503-659-0009 MOTORCYCLES, quads, boats, tractors, RVs, trailers, bicycles, autos, lawnmowers, cash paid will pick up 503-880-8183 U.S., GERMAN, Japanese military items, uniforms, aviation, hats, helmets, swords, daggers, bayonets, rifles, pistols. 503-852- 6791 BUYING US & world coins to add to col- lection, paying fairly, any amount welcome. Gradine Storms, Principal Broker Member of CWA Local 7901 7886 SE 13th, Portland, OR•Cell/Text 503-784-8326 gstorms@equitygroup.com Linkedin/GradyStorms NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Broadway Floral BARGAIN COUNTER A UTOMOTIVE PAGE 10 struggling to get by. “Workers’ ability to form unions and engage in collective bargaining has been a cornerstone of a strong middle class,” Perez declared. “When workers have a seat at the table, they are better able to bargain for their fair share of the value they helped cre- ate; and that leads to greater economic security and economic mobility for everyone.” 503-939-8835 COLLECTOR, cash paid, old fishing tackle, wood plugs, reels, creels, salmon fishing photos, etc. 503-775-4166 COLLECTOR PAYS cash for older toys, oil paintings, American art pottery, and cos- tume jewelry. 503 703-5952 1947 FRANKLIN HIGH School yearbook. 503-522-6542 270 CALIBER RIFLE, bolt action, also 30.06 dies. 503-267-5695 JET PUMP for ’69 100hp Mercury out- board, have good lower unit for same. 541-544-2030 S PORTING G OODS GOLF CLUBS, left-handed iron sets w/ bags; Titleist DCI 926, $45; TopFlite Tour, $45; Adams a2 hybrids, $100. 503-522- 6542 EL FAISAN 12ga, 27 5/8" d-barrel, excel- lent bore, very good condition, $400. 503- 926-3253 31’ CHRIS CRAFT Sportfisherman, 1968, twin 454s, freshwater cooled, newer elec- tronics, lots of upgrades, well maintained. $17,500. 503-504-7876 F OR THE H OME MINI BLINDS (2) for kitchen windows, 70” wide, descend 28”, $25 each OBO. 503- 753-1714 M ISCELLANEOUS TRUCK BED air compressor, 14hp, 185 psi, 30 gallon tank, 2.5 years old, paid $1,750, take $950. 503-508-4399 SEARS TABLE saw, $100; pressure washer, $100; and pellet gun, Crossman 7645B, $35. 503-775-7457 FEBRUARY 7, 2014
