Technical information:  (202) 691-6378     USDL 04-53
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                           For release:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902     Wednesday, January 21, 2004


                           UNION MEMBERS IN 2003


   In 2003, 12.9 percent of wage and salary workers were union members,
down from 13.3 percent in 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today.  The number of persons belonging to a
union fell by 369,000 over the year to 15.8 million in 2003.  The union
membership rate has steadily declined from a high of 20.1 percent in 1983,
the first year for which comparable union data are available.  Some
highlights from the 2003 data are:
   
   --Men were more likely to be union members than women.
   
   --Blacks were more likely to be union members than were whites, Asians,
     and Hispanics or Latinos.
   
   --Nearly 4 in 10 government workers were union members in 2003, compared
     with less than 1 in 10 workers in private-sector industries.
   
   --Nearly two-fifths of workers in education, training, and library
     occupations and in protective service occupations were union members 
     in 2003.  Protective service occupations include fire fighters and 
     police officers.
   
Membership by Industry and Occupation
   
   In 2003, workers in the public sector had a union membership rate more
than four times that of private-sector employees, 37.2 percent compared
with 8.2 percent.  The unionization rate for government workers has held
steady since 1983.  The rate for private industry workers has fallen by
about half over the same time period.  Within government, local government
workers had the highest union membership rate, 42.6 percent.  This group
includes the heavily unionized occupations of teachers, police officers,
and fire fighters.  Among major private industries, transportation and
utilities had the highest union membership rate, at 26.2 percent.  Con-
struction (16.0 percent), information industries (13.6 percent), and manu-
facturing (13.5 percent) also had higher-than-average rates.  Agriculture 
and related industries had the lowest unionization rate in 2003--1.6 percent.  
(See table 3.)   

   Among occupational groups, education, training, and library occupations
(37.7 percent) and protective service workers (36.1 percent) had the highest 
unionization rates in 2003.  Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 
workers and production, transportation, and material moving occupations also 
had higher-than-average union membership rates at 19.2 percent and 18.7 per-
cent, respectively.  Among the major occupational groups, sales and office 
occupations had the lowest unionization rate--8.2 percent.  (See table 3.)

Demographic Characteristics of Union Members
   
   In 2003, union membership rates were higher for men (14.3 percent) than
for women (11.4 percent).  The gap between men's and women's rates has
narrowed considerably since 1983, when the rate for men was 10 percentage
points higher than the rate for women.
                                  
                                  - 2 -
   
   Blacks were more likely to be union members (16.5 percent) than were
whites (12.5 percent), Asians (11.4 percent), or Hispanics (10.7 percent).
Union membership rates were highest among workers 45 to 54 years old.  
Full-time workers were more than twice as likely as part-time workers to 
be union members.  (See table 1.)
   
Union Representation of Nonmembers
   
   About 1.7 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union
on their main job in 2003, while not being union members themselves.  (See
table 1.)  About half of these workers were employed in government.  (See
table 3.)
   
Earnings
   
   In 2003, full-time wage and salary workers who were union members had
median usual weekly earnings of $760, compared with a median of $599 for
wage and salary workers who were not represented by unions.  (See table 2.)
The difference reflects a variety of influences in addition to coverage by
a collective bargaining agreement, including variations in the distributions 
of union members and nonunion employees by occupation, industry, firm size, 
or geographic region.  (For a discussion of the problem of differentiating 
between the influence of unionization status and the influence of other work-
er characteristics on employee earnings, see "Measuring union-nonunion earn-
ings differences," Monthly Labor Review, June 1990.)
   
Union Membership by State
   
   In 2003, 33 states reported lower union membership rates, while 15 states 
and the District of Columbia registered increased rates.  Two states report-
ed no change in their union membership rates from 2002 to 2003.  Twenty-nine 
states had union membership rates below that of the U.S., while 21 states and 
the District of Columbia had higher rates.  All states in the Middle Atlantic 
and Pacific divisions again had union membership rates above the national av-
erage of 12.9 percent, while all states in the East South Central and West 
South Central divisions continued to have rates below it.  (See table 5.)
   
   Four states had union membership rates over 20 percent in 2003--New
York (24.6 percent), Hawaii (23.8 percent), Alaska (22.3 percent), and
Michigan (21.9 percent).  This is the same rank order as in both 2001 and
2002.  All four states have had rates above 20 percent every year since
data became regularly available in 1995.  North Carolina and South Carolina
continued to report the lowest union membership rates, 3.1 and 4.2 percent,
respectively.  These two states have had the lowest union membership rates
each year since the state series became available.
   
   The largest numbers of union members lived in California (2.4 million),
New York (1.9 million), and Illinois (1.0 million).  About half (7.9 million) 
of the 15.8 million union members in the U.S. lived in six states (California, 
New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania), although these states 
accounted for just over one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.
   
   The number of union members in a state depends on both its union member-
ship rate and the size of its employed workforce.  Texas had only about one-
fourth as many union members as New York, despite having 1.2 million more 
wage and salary employees.
  
 
 
 
 

Technical Note


   The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population
Survey (CPS), which provides the basic information on the labor force,
employment, and unemployment.  The survey is conducted monthly for the
Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau from a scientifically
selected national sample of about 60,000 households.  The union membership
and earnings data are tabulated from one-quarter of the CPS monthly sample
and are limited to wage and salary workers.  Excluded are all self-employed
workers.
   
   Data for 2002 presented in this release have been revised to incorporate
changes to the class of worker status associated with the introduction of
the 2002 Census industry and occupational classification systems into the
Current Population Survey.  In addition, the data for 2003 reflect revised
CPS population controls introduced in January 2003.  For a discussion of
the revised population controls and the impact that their introduction had
on CPS data, see "Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in
January 2003" in the February 2003 issue of Employment and Earnings and
available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf on the BLS Web site.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200, TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
   
Reliability of the estimates
   
   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error.  When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed,
there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true"
population values they represent.  The exact difference, or sampling error,
varies depending upon the particular sample selected, and this variability
is measured by the standard error of the estimate.  There is about a 90-
percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample
will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population
value because of sampling error.  BLS analyses are generally conducted at
the 90-percent level of confidence.
   
   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error.  Nonsampling error
can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of
the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the
sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct
information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
   
   For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and in-
formation on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings.
   
Definitions
   
   The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly
below.
   
   Union members.  Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee
association similar to a union.
   
   Represented by unions.  Data refer to union members, as well as workers
who have no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an
employee association contract.
   
   Usual weekly earnings.  Data represent earnings before taxes and other
deductions and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually
received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders).  Prior to
1994, respondents were asked how much they usually earned per week.  Since
January 1994, respondents have been asked to identify the easiest way for
them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly,
annually, other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time period.  
Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly 
equivalent.  The term "usual" is as perceived by the respondent.  If the 
respondent asks for a definition of usual, interviewers are instructed to 
define the term as more than half the weeks worked during the past 4 or 
5 months.
   
   Median earnings.  The median is the amount which divides a given earnings 
distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the median and 
the other having earnings below the median.
   
   The estimating procedure places each reported or calculated weekly
earnings value into $50-wide intervals which are centered around multiples
of $50.  The actual value is estimated through the linear interpolation of
the interval in which the median lies.
   
   Wage and salary workers.  Workers who receive wages, salaries, com-
missions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates.  The group includes
employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the purposes 
of the union membership and earnings series, excludes all self-employed
persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.
   
   Full-time workers.  Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week
at their sole or principal job.
   
   Part-time workers.  Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per
week at their sole or principal job.
   
   Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.  Refers to persons who identified them-
selves in the enumeration process as being Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino.  
Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any 
race.


  
 
     Table 1.  Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by selected characteristics

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2002                                    2003                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                             Members of     Represented              Members of     Represented  
                                                             unions(1)       by unions(2)            unions(1)       by unions(2)
                    Characteristic                 Total                                   Total                                 
                                                    em-                                     em-                                  
                                                   ployed         Percent         Percent  ployed         Percent         Percent
                                                           Total     of    Total     of            Total     of    Total     of  
                                                                    em-             em-                     em-             em-  
                                                                   ployed          ployed                  ployed          ployed
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                     AGE AND SEX                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
      Total, 16 years and over................... 121,826  16,145   13.3   17,695   14.5  122,358  15,776   12.9   17,448   14.3 
       16 to 24 years............................  19,216     995    5.2    1,126    5.9   18,904     966    5.1    1,124    5.9 
       25 years and over......................... 102,610  15,151   14.8   16,569   16.1  103,454  14,810   14.3   16,324   15.8 
        25 to 34 years...........................  28,232   3,172   11.2    3,522   12.5   28,179   3,097   11.0    3,455   12.3 
        35 to 44 years...........................  31,253   4,455   14.3    4,859   15.5   30,714   4,308   14.0    4,717   15.4 
        45 to 54 years...........................  27,040   5,016   18.6    5,446   20.1   27,567   4,848   17.6    5,307   19.3 
        55 to 64 years...........................  12,952   2,256   17.4    2,456   19.0   13,633   2,300   16.9    2,547   18.7 
        65 years and over........................   3,133     251    8.0      285    9.1    3,361     258    7.7      297    8.8 
                                                                                                                                 
       Men, 16 years and over....................  63,272   9,325   14.7   10,066   15.9   63,236   9,044   14.3    9,848   15.6 
        16 to 24 years...........................   9,857     616    6.3      687    7.0    9,683     595    6.1      685    7.1 
        25 years and over........................  53,415   8,709   16.3    9,379   17.6   53,553   8,450   15.8    9,163   17.1 
         25 to 34 years..........................  15,284   1,877   12.3    2,061   13.5   15,263   1,826   12.0    2,005   13.1 
         35 to 44 years..........................  16,355   2,631   16.1    2,805   17.1   16,080   2,535   15.8    2,735   17.0 
         45 to 54 years..........................  13,578   2,784   20.5    2,982   22.0   13,723   2,684   19.6    2,891   21.1 
         55 to 64 years..........................   6,570   1,281   19.5    1,376   21.0    6,776   1,271   18.8    1,377   20.3 
         65 years and over.......................   1,627     136    8.4      155    9.5    1,710     133    7.8      155    9.0 
                                                                                                                                 
       Women, 16 years and over..................  58,555   6,820   11.6    7,629   13.0   59,122   6,732   11.4    7,601   12.9 
        16 to 24 years...........................   9,359     378    4.0      439    4.7    9,221     371    4.0      439    4.8 
        25 years and over........................  49,196   6,441   13.1    7,190   14.6   49,901   6,360   12.7    7,161   14.4 
         25 to 34 years..........................  12,948   1,295   10.0    1,461   11.3   12,916   1,270    9.8    1,451   11.2 
         35 to 44 years..........................  14,898   1,825   12.2    2,055   13.8   14,634   1,773   12.1    1,982   13.5 
         45 to 54 years..........................  13,462   2,232   16.6    2,464   18.3   13,844   2,163   15.6    2,416   17.5 
         55 to 64 years..........................   6,383     975   15.3    1,080   16.9    6,857   1,029   15.0    1,170   17.1 
         65 years and over.......................   1,506     115    7.6      130    8.6    1,651     125    7.6      142    8.6 
                                                                                                                                 
     RACE, SEX, AND HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
       White, 16 years and over(3)............... 100,923  12,958   12.8   14,178   14.0  100,589  12,535   12.5   13,849   13.8 
         Men.....................................  53,198   7,689   14.5    8,284   15.6   52,827   7,378   14.0    8,016   15.2 
         Women...................................  47,725   5,269   11.0    5,894   12.3   47,762   5,157   10.8    5,834   12.2 
                                                                                                                                 
       Black or African American, 16 years and                                                                                   
     over(3).....................................  14,108   2,386   16.9    2,624   18.6   13,928   2,298   16.5    2,540   18.2 
         Men.....................................   6,493   1,183   18.2    1,281   19.7    6,302   1,153   18.3    1,249   19.8 
         Women...................................   7,615   1,204   15.8    1,343   17.6    7,626   1,145   15.0    1,291   16.9 
                                                                                                                                 
       Asian, 16 years and over(3)...............   5,540     643   11.6      719   13.0    5,096     581   11.4      659   12.9 
         Men.....................................   2,909     356   12.3      396   13.6    2,699     296   11.0      346   12.8 
         Women...................................   2,631     286   10.9      322   12.3    2,397     285   11.9      313   13.1 
                                                                                                                                 
       Hispanic or Latino, 16 years and over.....  15,486   1,639   10.6    1,810   11.7   16,068   1,712   10.7    1,913   11.9 
         Men.....................................   9,098   1,006   11.1    1,100   12.1    9,567   1,050   11.0    1,160   12.1 
         Women...................................   6,387     633    9.9      710   11.1    6,501     662   10.2      753   11.6 
                                                                                                                                 
             FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS(4)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                 
       Full-time workers......................... 100,081  14,622   14.6   16,005   16.0  100,302  14,263   14.2   15,732   15.7 
       Part-time workers.........................  21,513   1,492    6.9    1,654    7.7   21,809   1,479    6.8    1,679    7.7 

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
     union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       3 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not
     included.  Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they identified as their
     main race.
       4 The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked.  These data will not sum to totals
     because full- or part-time status on the principal job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple jobholders.
       NOTE:  Data for 2002 have been revised to incorporate changes to the class of worker status associated with the
     introduction of the 2002 Census industry and occupational classification systems into the Current Population Survey. 
     Beginning in January 2003, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.  Estimates for the above
     race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.
     In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as "Hispanic or Latino" may be of any race and, therefore, are classified
     by ethnicity as well as race.  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers.  Excluded are all
     self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.




     Table 2.  Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation and selected characteristics
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2002                                    2003                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                    Characteristic                           Members    Repre-                       Members    Repre-           
                                                    Total       of      sented     Non-     Total       of      sented     Non-  
                                                            unions(1)     by      union             unions(1)     by      union  
                                                                      unions(2)                               unions(2)          
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                 
                     AGE AND SEX                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
      Total, 16 years and over...................    $608      $738      $733      $587      $620      $760      $755      $599  
       16 to 24 years............................     381       497       495       374       387       497       494       381  
       25 years and over.........................     646       752       747       622       662       774       770       636  
        25 to 34 years...........................     591       677       668       578       594       707       701       580  
        35 to 44 years...........................     668       758       753       647       687       787       783       665  
        45 to 54 years...........................     706       788       787       674       723       812       807       695  
        55 to 64 years...........................     674       785       783       641       708       797       798       678  
        65 years and over........................     502       590       592       485       516       619       624       504  
                                                                                                                                 
       Men, 16 years and over....................     679       780       775       652       695       805       802       667  
        16 to 24 years...........................     391       497       495       385       398       498       493       392  
        25 years and over........................     732       796       793       713       744       821       821       724  
         25 to 34 years..........................     627       718       708       615       628       737       732       613  
         35 to 44 years..........................     759       811       807       747       775       841       839       759  
         45 to 54 years..........................     807       832       832       794       834       865       865       822  
         55 to 64 years..........................     802       834       836       784       827       834       842       821  
         65 years and over.......................     583       612       614       575       612       713       720       603  
                                                                                                                                 
       Women, 16 years and over..................     529       666       662       509       552       696       691       523  
        16 to 24 years...........................     367       496       495       361       371       495       494       366  
        25 years and over........................     568       678       673       540       584       709       704       562  
         25 to 34 years..........................     530       621       617       516       546       661       657       525  
         35 to 44 years..........................     571       672       668       546       590       706       703       574  
         45 to 54 years..........................     602       728       723       580       609       736       731       589  
         55 to 64 years..........................     574       709       709       542       601       748       743       576  
         65 years and over.......................     430       542       543       415       435       517       531       422  
                                                                                                                                 
               RACE, SEX, AND HISPANIC                                                                                           
                 OR LATINO ETHNICITY                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                 
       White, 16 years and over(3)...............     623       762       756       602       636       779       774       612  
         Men.....................................     702       804       801       674       715       827       825       688  
         Women...................................     547       694       687       520       567       711       707       539  
                                                                                                                                 
       Black or African American, 16 years and                                                                                   
     over(3).....................................     498       614       611       476       514       665       654       491  
         Men.....................................     524       650       642       502       555       693       687       518  
         Women...................................     473       588       588       443       491       633       622       467  
                                                                                                                                 
       Asian, 16 years and over(3)...............     658       706       705       650       693       759       760       681  
         Men.....................................     756       733       734       760       772       783       775       771  
         Women...................................     566       669       662       552       598       710       723       587  
                                                                                                                                 
       Hispanic or Latino, 16 years and over.....     424       622       616       409       440       632       622       419  
         Men.....................................     451       663       651       423       464       664       652       437  
         Women...................................     397       560       573       382       410       586       584       394  

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
     union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       3 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not
     included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they identified as their
     main race.
       NOTE:  Data for 2002 have been revised to incorporate changes to the class of worker status associated with the
     introduction of the 2002 Census industry and occupational classification systems into the Current Population Survey. 
     Beginning in January 2003, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.  Estimates for the above
     race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.
     In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as "Hispanic or Latino" may be of any race and, therefore, are classified
     by ethnicity as well as race.  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers.  Excluded are all
     self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.





     Table 3.  Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2002                                    2003                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                             Members of     Represented              Members of     Represented  
                                                             unions(1)       by unions(2)            unions(1)       by unions(2)
               Occupation and industry             Total                                   Total                                 
                                                    em-                                     em-                                  
                                                   ployed         Percent         Percent  ployed         Percent         Percent
                                                           Total     of    Total     of            Total     of    Total     of  
                                                                    em-             em-                     em-             em-  
                                                                   ployed          ployed                  ployed          ployed
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                 
                      OCCUPATION                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
     Management, professional, and related                                                                                       
      occupations................................  40,610   5,384   13.3    6,153   15.2   40,883   5,331   13.0    6,130   15.0 
         Management, business, and financial                                                                                     
          operations occupations.................  15,553     838    5.4    1,003    6.4   15,465     727    4.7      882    5.7 
             Management occupations..............  10,799     521    4.8      627    5.8   10,713     436    4.1      546    5.1 
             Business and financial operations                                                                                   
              occupations........................   4,754     317    6.7      375    7.9    4,753     291    6.1      336    7.1 
         Professional and related occupations....  25,057   4,546   18.1    5,150   20.6   25,418   4,604   18.1    5,248   20.6 
             Computer and mathematical                                                                                           
              occupations........................   2,938     119    4.0      157    5.4    2,947     154    5.2      197    6.7 
             Architecture and engineering                                                                                        
              occupations........................   2,573     200    7.8      222    8.6    2,592     202    7.8      240    9.2 
             Life, physical, and social science                                                                                  
              occupations........................   1,164     117   10.0      142   12.2    1,203     108    9.0      136   11.3 
             Community and social services                                                                                       
              occupations........................   2,116     361   17.1      409   19.3    2,118     351   16.6      395   18.6 
             Legal occupations...................   1,162      61    5.3       79    6.8    1,134      54    4.8       65    5.7 
             Education, training, and library                                                                                    
              occupations........................   7,352   2,799   38.1    3,124   42.5    7,584   2,861   37.7    3,207   42.3 
             Arts, design, entertainment, sports,                                                                                
              and media occupations..............   1,928     164    8.5      196   10.2    1,879     140    7.5      157    8.4 
             Healthcare practitioner and                                                                                         
              technical occupations..............   5,825     725   12.5      822   14.1    5,961     733   12.3      853   14.3 
     Service occupations.........................  19,766   2,352   11.9    2,570   13.0   20,183   2,318   11.5    2,562   12.7 
         Healthcare support occupations..........   2,564     317   12.4      339   13.2    2,824     312   11.0      341   12.1 
         Protective service occupations..........   2,670     981   36.7    1,036   38.8    2,699     974   36.1    1,038   38.5 
         Food preparation and serving related                                                                                    
          occupations............................   6,811     281    4.1      328    4.8    7,150     292    4.1      347    4.9 
         Building and grounds cleaning and                                                                                       
          maintenance occupations................   4,497     531   11.8      596   13.3    4,426     490   11.1      550   12.4 
         Personal care and service occupations...   3,224     242    7.5      271    8.4    3,084     251    8.1      286    9.3 
     Sales and office occupations................  32,249   2,616    8.1    2,879    8.9   32,323   2,642    8.2    2,974    9.2 
         Sales and related occupations...........  13,341     504    3.8      554    4.2   13,378     533    4.0      599    4.5 
         Office and administrative support                                                                                       
          occupations............................  18,909   2,111   11.2    2,324   12.3   18,945   2,109   11.1    2,375   12.5 
     Natural resources, construction, and                                                                                        
      maintenance occupations....................  11,517   2,359   20.5    2,462   21.4   11,894   2,288   19.2    2,409   20.3 
         Farming, fishing, and forestry                                                                                          
          occupations............................     976      45    4.6       48    4.9      921      33    3.5       38    4.1 
         Construction and extraction occupations.   6,354   1,473   23.2    1,529   24.1    6,412   1,394   21.7    1,457   22.7 
         Installation, maintenance, and repair                                                                                   
          occupations............................   4,188     841   20.1      885   21.1    4,560     862   18.9      913   20.0 
     Production, transportation, and material                                                                                    
      moving occupations.........................  17,684   3,435   19.4    3,631   20.5   17,074   3,196   18.7    3,374   19.8 
         Production occupations..................   9,716   1,780   18.3    1,868   19.2    9,261   1,624   17.5    1,710   18.5 
         Transportation and material moving                                                                                      
          occupations............................   7,968   1,655   20.8    1,763   22.1    7,814   1,572   20.1    1,664   21.3 
                                                                                                                                 
                       INDUSTRY                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                 
     Private sector.............................. 102,153   8,800    8.6    9,535    9.3  102,648   8,452    8.2    9,264    9.0 
       Agriculture and related industries........   1,126      31    2.8       34    3.0    1,089      17    1.6       23    2.1 
       Nonagricultural industries................ 101,027   8,769    8.7    9,501    9.4  101,559   8,435    8.3    9,241    9.1 
          Mining.................................     446      39    8.7       45   10.1      504      46    9.1       53   10.5 
          Construction...........................   7,080   1,179   16.7    1,222   17.3    7,126   1,139   16.0    1,188   16.7 
          Manufacturing..........................  16,387   2,399   14.6    2,521   15.4   16,130   2,173   13.5    2,314   14.3 
              Durable goods......................  10,235   1,592   15.6    1,664   16.3   10,049   1,411   14.0    1,497   14.9 
              Nondurable goods...................   6,151     807   13.1      857   13.9    6,081     762   12.5      817   13.4 
          Wholesale and retail trade.............  17,653   1,040    5.9    1,111    6.3   18,343   1,130    6.2    1,210    6.6 
              Wholesale trade....................   3,619     182    5.0      192    5.3    3,878     197    5.1      213    5.5 
              Retail trade.......................  14,034     858    6.1      919    6.5   14,466     933    6.4      997    6.9 
          Transportation and utilities...........   5,186   1,283   24.7    1,343   25.9    4,942   1,294   26.2    1,350   27.3 
              Transportation and warehousing.....   4,266   1,050   24.6    1,099   25.8    4,081   1,051   25.8    1,094   26.8 
              Utilities..........................     919     233   25.4      244   26.6      861     243   28.2      256   29.8 
          Information(3).........................   3,334     487   14.6      532   16.0    3,297     448   13.6      481   14.6 
              Publishing,.except Internet........     815      73    9.0       84   10.4      781      58    7.4       60    7.7 
              Motion pictures and sound recording     310      44   14.3       52   16.9      333      40   12.0       46   13.8 
              Broadcasting, except Internet......     515      39    7.6       48    9.2      489      45    9.2       48    9.7 
              Telecommunications.................   1,398     323   23.1      339   24.3    1,414     296   21.0      316   22.3 
          Financial activities...................   8,251     164    2.0      206    2.5    8,360     176    2.1      237    2.8 
              Finance and insurance..............   6,162      92    1.5      125    2.0    6,246      98    1.6      142    2.3 
                  Finance........................   3,972      52    1.3       75    1.9    4,079      63    1.5       96    2.3 
                  Insurance......................   2,190      40    1.8       50    2.3    2,167      35    1.6       47    2.1 
              Real estate and rental and leasing.   2,089      73    3.5       81    3.9    2,114      77    3.7       95    4.5 
          Professional and business services.....  10,916     293    2.7      355    3.3   10,588     243    2.3      312    2.9 
              Professional and technical services   6,493      98    1.5      129    2.0    6,146      88    1.4      125    2.0 
              Management, administrative, and                                                                                    
               waste services....................   4,423     195    4.4      226    5.1    4,443     155    3.5      187    4.2 
          Education and health services..........  16,088   1,372    8.5    1,558    9.7   16,635   1,324    8.0    1,560    9.4 
              Educational services...............   3,160     433   13.7      504   15.9    3,062     371   12.1      452   14.8 
              Health care and social assistance..  12,928     940    7.3    1,055    8.2   13,573     953    7.0    1,108    8.2 
          Leisure and hospitality................  10,286     313    3.0      370    3.6   10,207     281    2.8      333    3.3 
              Arts, entertainment, and recreation   1,904     122    6.4      137    7.2    1,764      95    5.4      111    6.3 
              Accommodation and food services....   8,382     191    2.3      233    2.8    8,443     187    2.2      222    2.6 
                  Accommodation..................   1,394     107    7.6      116    8.3    1,396     116    8.3      126    9.0 
                  Food services and drinking                                                                                     
                   places........................   6,988      85    1.2      117    1.7    7,046      70    1.0       96    1.4 
          Other services(3)......................   5,400     200    3.7      236    4.4    5,425     181    3.3      203    3.7 
              Other services, except private                                                                                     
               households........................   4,629     193    4.2      227    4.9    4,645     174    3.8      196    4.2 
                                                                                                                                 
     Public sector...............................  19,673   7,346   37.3    8,160   41.5   19,710   7,324   37.2    8,185   41.5 
       Federal goverment.........................   3,318   1,068   32.2    1,236   37.3    3,247   1,004   30.9    1,196   36.8 
       State government..........................   5,637   1,745   31.0    1,972   35.0    5,636   1,706   30.3    1,929   34.2 
       Local government..........................  10,719   4,533   42.3    4,952   46.2   10,827   4,614   42.6    5,060   46.7 

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
     union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       3 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
       NOTE:  Data for 2002 have been revised to incorporate changes to the class of worker status associated with the
     introduction of the 2002 Census industry and occupational classification systems into the Current Population Survey. 
     Beginning in January 2003, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.  Occupations and
     industries reflect the introduction of the 2002 Census occupational and industry classification systems derived from the
     2000 Standard Occupational Classification system and the 2002 North American Industry Classification System into the Current
     Population Survey.  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers.  Excluded are all self-employed
     workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

 
 
 
     Table 4.  Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and industry
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2002                                    2003                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
               Occupation and industry                       Members    Repre-                       Members    Repre-           
                                                    Total       of      sented     Non-     Total       of      sented     Non-  
                                                            unions(1)     by      union             unions(1)     by      union  
                                                                      unions(2)                               unions(2)          
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                 
                      OCCUPATION                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
     Management, professional, and related                                                                                       
      occupations................................    $859      $864      $857      $859      $887      $896      $892      $886  
         Management, business, and financial                                                                                     
          operations occupations.................     922       911       924       922       961       985       994       959  
             Management occupations..............     982       955       984       982      1023      1102      1109      1019  
             Business and financial operations                                                                                   
              occupations........................     797       862       856       790       842       864       873       839  
         Professional and related occupations....     823       858       848       811       845       885       879       833  
             Computer and mathematical                                                                                           
              occupations........................    1026       972       959      1033      1049       963       979      1057  
             Architecture and engineering                                                                                        
              occupations........................    1009       995       995      1012      1053      1037      1028      1058  
             Life, physical, and social science                                                                                  
              occupations........................     873       916       933       854       891       944       945       876  
             Community and social services                                                                                       
              occupations........................     658       822       797       621       686       848       832       650  
             Legal occupations...................     996       991       960       999      1051      1362      1317      1032  
             Education, training, and library                                                                                    
              occupations........................     740       845       832       645       754       864       854       644  
             Arts, design, entertainment, sports,                                                                                
              and media occupations..............     740       872       823       732       745       947       933       734  
             Healthcare practitioner and                                                                                         
              technical occupations..............     794       846       848       784       816       877       876       801  
     Service occupations.........................     396       600       592       372       403       606       596       382  
         Healthcare support occupations..........     393       418       419       388       400       452       452       394  
         Protective service occupations..........     659       818       811       542       630       857       850       510  
         Food preparation and serving related                                                                                    
          occupations............................     334       409       402       330       349       415       410       344  
         Building and grounds cleaning and                                                                                       
          maintenance occupations................     378       499       495       360       390       503       498       372  
         Personal care and service occupations...     383       507       510       373       391       532       520       381  
     Sales and office occupations................     527       625       622       517       545       629       624       530  
         Sales and related occupations...........     592       594       588       593       598       597       601       598  
         Office and administrative support                                                                                       
          occupations............................     511       629       625       498       523       639       632       510  
     Natural resources, construction, and                                                                                        
      maintenance occupations....................     597       825       817       540       608       851       843       558  
         Farming, fishing, and forestry                                                                                          
          occupations............................     340      (3)       (3)        334       369      (3)       (3)        365  
         Construction and extraction occupations.     589       824       816       523       599       851       840       531  
         Installation, maintenance, and repair                                                                                   
          occupations............................     663       842       834       619       673       858       856       622  
     Production, transportation, and material                                                                                    
      moving occupations.........................     511       659       653       483       519       688       684       493  
         Production occupations..................     508       634       628       485       519       670       665       495  
         Transportation and material moving                                                                                      
          occupations............................     514       692       682       481       520       710       704       490  

                       INDUSTRY                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                 
     Private sector..............................    $591      $699      $691      $580      $603      $717      $713      $592  
       Agriculture and related industries........     367      (3)       (3)        365       397      (3)       (3)        396  
       Nonagricultural industries................     593       700       692       583       605       718       713       595  
          Mining.................................     786      (3)       (3)        800       797      (3)        783       799  
          Construction...........................     605       846       837       568       615       884       873       580  
          Manufacturing..........................     622       654       652       617       637       689       689       626  
              Durable goods......................     647       673       672       641       668       714       712       655  
              Nondurable goods...................     587       613       611       581       597       635       637       590  
          Wholesale and retail trade.............     511       558       549       509       533       590       586       528  
              Wholesale trade....................     619       622       627       618       670       694       689       668  
              Retail trade.......................     483       530       521       480       497       562       554       494  
          Transportation and utilities...........     682       809       807       630       704       817       816       653  
              Transportation and warehousing.....     642       791       788       602       668       782       780       620  
              Utilities..........................     849       896       898       818       899       965       979       857  
          Information(4).........................     764       832       826       750       776       868       862       758  
              Publishing, except Internet........     694       738       726       691       690       740       747       684  
              Motion pictures and sound recording     749      (3)       (3)        725       704      (3)       (3)        669  
              Broadcasting, except Internet......     692      (3)       (3)        681       724      (3)       (3)        703  
              Telecommunications.................     836       834       830       839       857       877       875       848  
          Financial activities...................     667       634       622       668       691       618       625       694  
              Finance and insurance..............     702       667       661       703       728       607       623       732  
                  Finance........................     715      (3)        666       716       726       614       640       730  
                  Insurance......................     681      (3)       (3)        682       731      (3)       (3)        734  
              Real estate and rental and leasing.     592       607       595       592       604       642       630       603  
          Professional and business services.....     696       654       653       698       692       699       691       692  
              Professional and technical services     881       880       863       882       885       897       911       884  
              Management, administrative, and                                                                                    
               waste services....................     468       558       556       462       486       640       617       482  
          Education and health services..........     582       666       665       572       598       670       684       590  
              Educational services...............     683       767       748       662       681       756       760       659  
              Health care and social assistance..     554       602       606       547       582       627       639       577  
          Leisure and hospitality................     392       487       483       387       400       497       485       395  
              Arts, entertainment, and recreation     499       588       564       492       492       546       529       489  
              Accommodation and food services....     371       434       433       368       385       478       470       381  
                  Accommodation..................     411       459       469       405       435       485       482       423  
                  Food services and drinking                                                                                     
                   places........................     358       397       390       357       371       467       456       369  
          Other services(4)......................     498       688       654       491       515       726       709       510  
              Other services, except private                                                                                     
               households........................     520       702       664       514       544       730       720       533  
                                                                                                                                 
     Public sector...............................     705       769       766       637       728       801       795       656  
       Federal goverment.........................     792       779       786       804       818       809       816       821  
       State government..........................     676       737       735       633       702       764       759       652  
       Local government..........................     684       781       773       595       709       814       803       606  

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
     union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       3 Data not shown where base is less than 50,000.
       4 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
       NOTE:  Data for 2002 have been revised to incorporate changes to the class of worker status associated with the
     introduction of the 2002 Census industry and occupational classification systems into the Current Population Survey. 
     Beginning in January 2003, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.  Occupations and
     industries reflect the introduction of the 2002 Census occupational and industry classification systems derived from the
     2000 Standard Occupational Classification system and the 2002 North American Industry Classification System into the Current
     Population Survey.  Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers.  Excluded are all self-employed
     workers regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

 
 
 
 
     Table 5. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2002                                    2003                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                             Members of     Represented              Members of     Represented  
                                                             unions(1)      by unions(2)             unions(1)      by unions(2) 
                        State                      Total                                   Total                                 
                                                    em-                                     em-                                  
                                                   ployed         Percent         Percent  ployed         Percent         Percent
                                                           Total     of    Total     of            Total     of    Total     of  
                                                                    em-             em-                     em-             em-  
                                                                   ployed          ployed                  ployed          ployed
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
       Alabama...................................   1,758     160    9.1      186   10.6    1,822     147    8.1      172    9.5 
       Alaska....................................     261      64   24.4       70   26.9      265      59   22.3       65   24.6 
       Arizona...................................   2,183     121    5.5      144    6.6    2,191     113    5.2      140    6.4 
       Arkansas..................................   1,062      63    5.9       72    6.7    1,035      50    4.8       61    5.9 
       California................................  13,955   2,444   17.5    2,619   18.8   14,350   2,414   16.8    2,647   18.4 
       Colorado..................................   1,996     157    7.9      180    9.0    2,007     156    7.8      180    9.0 
       Connecticut...............................   1,534     258   16.8      271   17.7    1,489     229   15.4      244   16.4 
       Delaware..................................     369      40   10.9       44   11.8      366      42   11.4       46   12.5 
       District of Columbia......................     260      36   13.9       46   17.8      268      39   14.6       46   17.2 
       Florida...................................   6,680     383    5.7      503    7.5    6,652     407    6.1      557    8.4 
                                                                                                                                 
       Georgia...................................   3,630     219    6.0      255    7.0    3,703     249    6.7      298    8.0 
       Hawaii....................................     490     120   24.5      124   25.3      511     122   23.8      127   24.8 
       Idaho.....................................     543      38    6.9       47    8.7      548      39    7.0       47    8.6 
       Illinois..................................   5,445   1,069   19.6    1,119   20.6    5,399     967   17.9    1,003   18.6 
       Indiana...................................   2,814     376   13.4      408   14.5    2,768     327   11.8      352   12.7 
       Iowa......................................   1,389     154   11.1      190   13.7    1,365     157   11.5      196   14.4 
       Kansas....................................   1,216     100    8.2      120    9.9    1,204      96    7.9      124   10.3 
       Kentucky..................................   1,639     165   10.1      185   11.3    1,681     175   10.4      216   12.8 
       Louisiana.................................   1,650     138    8.4      170   10.3    1,685     109    6.5      132    7.9 
       Maine.....................................     581      75   13.0       87   15.0      567      73   12.8       81   14.3 
                                                                                                                                 
       Maryland..................................   2,460     354   14.4      411   16.7    2,481     354   14.3      410   16.5 
       Massachusetts.............................   2,999     427   14.2      464   15.5    2,925     416   14.2      454   15.5 
       Michigan..................................   4,335     911   21.0      947   21.8    4,188     919   21.9      968   23.1 
       Minnesota.................................   2,500     440   17.6      458   18.3    2,435     414   17.0      441   18.1 
       Mississippi...............................   1,049      70    6.7       86    8.2    1,117      55    5.0       73    6.6 
       Missouri..................................   2,508     332   13.2      366   14.6    2,546     336   13.2      363   14.2 
       Montana...................................     361      51   14.2       56   15.5      360      50   14.0       54   14.9 
       Nebraska..................................     790      64    8.1       89   11.2      819      64    7.9       87   10.6 
       Nevada....................................     970     148   15.3      162   16.7      943     136   14.4      149   15.8 
       New Hampshire.............................     613      60    9.8       68   11.2      607      56    9.3       69   11.3 
                                                                                                                                 
       New Jersey................................   3,872     757   19.6      797   20.6    3,777     737   19.5      801   21.2 
       New Mexico................................     720      49    6.8       61    8.5      741      57    7.6       70    9.5 
       New York..................................   7,828   1,981   25.3    2,071   26.5    7,874   1,936   24.6    2,017   25.6 
       North Carolina............................   3,424     116    3.4      138    4.0    3,576     111    3.1      135    3.8 
       North Dakota..............................     291      24    8.2       28    9.8      284      21    7.3       26    9.0 
       Ohio......................................   5,118     859   16.8      916   17.9    5,100     850   16.7      923   18.1 
       Oklahoma..................................   1,420     128    9.0      151   10.6    1,406      96    6.8      111    7.9 
       Oregon....................................   1,457     226   15.5      239   16.4    1,466     230   15.7      240   16.4 
       Pennsylvania..............................   5,452     851   15.6      906   16.6    5,261     794   15.1      847   16.1 
       Rhode Island..............................     471      81   17.3       84   17.9      494      84   17.0       86   17.5 
                                                                                                                                 
       South Carolina............................   1,646      80    4.9      100    6.1    1,689      71    4.2       90    5.3 
       South Dakota..............................     349      19    5.6       24    6.9      353      19    5.4       23    6.4 
       Tennessee.................................   2,465     223    9.1      258   10.5    2,384     179    7.5      218    9.2 
       Texas.....................................   8,802     452    5.1      570    6.5    9,072     508    5.6      621    6.8 
       Utah......................................     971      61    6.3       73    7.6    1,015      53    5.2       69    6.8 
       Vermont...................................     289      28    9.6       32   11.1      281      27    9.7       33   11.7 
       Virginia..................................   3,205     194    6.0      251    7.8    3,243     210    6.5      251    7.7 
       Washington................................   2,548     472   18.5      510   20.0    2,539     502   19.7      531   20.9 
       West Virginia.............................     692      92   13.3       97   14.1      671      88   13.1       95   14.2 
       Wisconsin.................................   2,549     397   15.6      418   16.4    2,613     414   15.9      438   16.8 
       Wyoming...................................     219      17    7.8       22    9.9      224      18    8.0       22    9.8 

       1 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
       2 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no
     union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.
       NOTE:  Data for 2002 have been revised to incorporate changes to the class of worker status associated with the
     introduction of the 2002 Census industry and occupational classification systems into the Current Population Survey. 
     Beginning in January 2003, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.  Data refer to the sole or
     principal job of full- and part-time workers.  Excluded are all self-employed workers regardless of whether or not their
     businesses are incorporated.