NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | February 5 , 2016 | PAGE 7
Tumbles in Wisconsin
Union membership slips in Oregon, grows in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The ranks of
union membership in Oregon dropped by
8,000 members in 2015, a new report
from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) shows. Density and numbers both
dropped — from 243,000 unionists (15.6
percent) in 2014, to 235,000 last year (14.8
percent).
In the State of Washington, a half-mil-
lion residents belonged to labor unions in
2015, up 9,000 members from a year prior.
Washington has the fifth-highest union
density of any state, with 16.8 percent of
the workforce being union members. Only
New York (24.7 percent), Hawaii (20 per-
cent), Alaska (19.6 percent) and Connecti-
cut (17 percent) are higher.
Wisconsin saw the largest decrease in
membership, by far, as Republican Gov.
Scott Walker’s anti-union program fully
kicked in. His 2011 agenda stripped public
unions of bargaining rights, and he later
pushed through a right-to-work law. Wis-
consin lost 83,000 union members in one
year, dropping to 223,000. Density drop-
ped from 12.6 percent to 8.3 percent.
BLS calculated that, nationwide, unions
had 14.795 million members last year, up
219,000 from 2014. Union density was un-
changed at 11.1 percent.
Public workers are still five times more
likely to be unionized (35.2 percent) than
private-sector workers (6.7 percent), with
teachers and public safety workers leading
the way. Public and private densities
changed little from 2014. The public sector
added 23,000 union members, to 7.241
million last year. That’s slightly fewer than
the 7.554 million private-sector union
members.
According the BLS report, median
weekly earnings of full-time union work-
ers ($975) were more than 25 percent
higher than those of nonunion workers
($776) in 2015.
“That’s not pocket change — it comes
to more than $10,000 per year,” U.S. Sec-
retary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said in a
press statement. “That goes a long way to-
ward writing the mortgage check, paying
down the car loan, or even just keeping the
kids in snow boots. And, that doesn’t even
account for the superior benefits, safer
workplaces and other advantages that
come with union representation.”
The annual survey follows another fed-
eral report — The National Compensation
Survey — that showed union members are
far more likely to have employer-provided
retirement and health care benefits than
their nonunion counterparts.
The report found:
• 95 percent of union workers had the option of
an employer-sponsored health care plan,
compared to 69 percent of nonunion work-
ers;
• 94 percent of union workers had the option of
an employer-sponsored retirement plan,
compared to 65 percent of nonunion work-
ers; and
• 93 percent of union workers had the option of
an employee-sponsored prescription drug
insurance, compared to 67 percent of
nonunion workers.
In addition, the quality of the benefits
provided to union workers typically was
better, the data showed. For example,
workers were expected to contribute 19
percent toward the cost of the family’s
health care under union-negotiated bene-
fits plans, while nonunion workers were
forced to shell out 35 percent of the cost,
which amounts to 84 percent more in out-
of-pocket costs.
“With this report, we are reminded
again that the labor movement continues to
be one of the most powerful forces for
strengthening the middle class and provid-
ing economic stability, for members and
non-members alike,” Perez said.
(Editor’s Note: Press Associates Inc. and
the Washington State Labor Council’s The
Stand contributed to this report.)
WSLC opposes
Initiative 732
carbon tax
SEATTLE —The Executive
Board of the Washington State
Labor Council (WSLC) voted
Jan. 28 to oppose Initiative 732,
a statewide ballot measure that
would create a new tax on car-
bon emissions while cutting
other state taxes.
WSLC President Jeff John-
son said that although I-732 pro-
ponents intended the measure to
be “revenue neutral,” the state
Department of Revenue now es-
timates it will cost the state $914
million over the next four years.
“At a time our state is strug-
gling to fund basic services —
including public schools, mental
health facilities, and many other
essential services — I-732
would send Washington in the
wrong direction and create more
damaging austerity choices,”
Johnson said.
The WSLC is part of the Al-
liance for Jobs and Clean Energy,
a coalition of labor, environmen-
tal, business, and community
groups working on a comprehen-
sive carbon policy that addresses
I-732’s shortcomings.
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