Technical information:  (202) 691-6378     USDL 05-112
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                           For release:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902     Thursday, January 27, 2005
   
   
                           UNION MEMBERS IN 2004
   
   In 2004, 12.5 percent of wage and salary workers were union members,
down from 12.9 percent in 2003, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today.  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 2004 data
are:
   
   --About 36 percent of government workers were union members in 2004,
     compared with about 8 percent of workers in private-sector industries.
   
   --Two occupational groups--education, training, and library occupations
     and protective service occupations--had the highest unionization rates
     in 2004, at about 37 percent each.  Protective service occupations in-
     clude fire fighters and police officers.
   
   --Men were more likely to be union members than women.
   
   --Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white,
     Asian, or Hispanic or Latino workers.
   
Membership by Industry and Occupation
   
   In 2004, workers in the public sector had a union membership rate more
than four times that of private-sector employees.  At 36.4 percent, the
unionization rate for government workers was down slightly from 37.2
percent a year earlier.  The rate for private industry workers, at 7.9
percent in 2004, was about half what it had been in 1983.  Within the
public sector, local government workers had the highest union membership
rate, 41.3 percent.  This group includes several heavily unionized occu-
pations, such as teachers, police officers, and fire fighters.  Among
major private industries, transportation and utilities had the highest
union membership rate, at 24.9 percent.  Construction (14.7 percent),
information industries (14.2 percent), and manufacturing (12.9 percent)
also had higher-than-average rates.  Within the information industry,
telecommunications had a 22.4 percent union membership rate.  Financial
activities had the lowest unionization rate in 2004--2.0 percent.  (See
table 3.)
   
   Among occupational groups, education, training, and library occupations
(37.6 percent) and protective service workers (37.3 percent) had the high-
est unionization rates in 2004.  Construction and extraction occupations
(19.6 percent), installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (19.4
percent), transportation and material moving occupations (18.8 percent),
community and social services occupations (17.4 percent), and production
occupations (16.3 percent) also had higher-than-average rates.  Farming,
fishing, and forestry occupations (3.1 percent) and sales and related oc-
cupations (3.6 percent) had the lowest unionization rates.  (See table 3.)

                                  - 2 -

Demographic Characteristics of Union Members
   
   In 2004, the union membership rate was higher for men (13.8 percent)
than for women (11.1 percent).  The gap between their rates has narrowed
considerably since 1983, when the rate for men was 10 percentage points
higher than the rate for women.  This narrowing occurred because the union
membership rate for men declined more rapidly than the rate for women over
the period.  (See table 1.)
   
   Blacks were more likely to be union members (15.1 percent) than were
whites (12.2 percent), Asians (11.4 percent), or Hispanics or Latinos
(10.1 percent).  Among age groups, union membership rates were highest
among workers 45 to 54 years old (17.0 percent) and were lowest among
those ages 16 to 24 (4.7 percent).  Full-time workers were more than
twice as likely as part-time workers to be union members, 13.9 and 6.4
percent, respectively.  (See table 1.)
   
Union Representation of Nonmembers
   
   About 1.6 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union
on their main job in 2004, while not being union members themselves.  (See
table 1.)  About half of these workers were employed in government.  (See
table 3.)
   
Earnings
   
   In 2004, full-time wage and salary workers who were union members had
median usual weekly earnings of $781, compared with a median of $612 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
worker characteristics on employee earnings, see "Measuring union-nonunion
earnings differences," Monthly Labor Review, June 1990.)
   
Union Membership by State
   
   In 2004, 32 states had union membership rates below that of the U.S.
average, 12.5 percent, while 17 states and the District of Columbia had
higher rates.  All states in the Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions
again reported union membership rates above the national average, while
all states in the East South Central and West South Central divisions
continued to have rates below it.  The states in the Mountain division
also recorded union membership rates at or below that of the U.S.  (See
table 5.)
   
   Four states had union membership rates over 20 percent in 2004--New York
(25.3 percent), Hawaii (23.7 percent), Michigan (21.6 percent), and Alaska
(20.1 percent).  All four states have had rates above 20 percent every year
since data became regularly available in 1995.  Four states reported union
membership rates below 5 percent in 2004.  North Carolina and South Carolina
continued to record the lowest union membership rates, 2.7 and 3.0 percent,
respectively.  These two states have had the lowest union membership rates
each year since the state series became available.  Arkansas and Mississippi
had the next lowest union membership rates, 4.8 percent each in 2004.

                                  - 3 -

   The largest numbers of union members lived in California (2.4 million)
and New York (2.0 million).  About half (7.8 million) of the 15.5 million
union members in the U.S. lived in six states (California, New York, Michigan,
Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ohio), 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 employment
level and its union membership rate.  Texas (the second largest state in
terms of the number of wage and salary workers) had less than one-fourth as
many union members as New York (the third largest), despite having nearly
1.2 million more wage and salary employees.  Similarly, Florida (the fourth
largest state) and Wisconsin (the sixteenth) had the same number of union
members, even though Florida's wage and salary employment level was more
than two and one-half times that of Wisconsin.
   
   
   
   
   
                                  - 4 -

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.  All self-employed workers are
excluded.
   
   Union membership data for 2004 are not strictly comparable with data
for 2003 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2004 of
revised population controls used in the CPS.  The effect of the revised
population controls on the union membership estimates is unknown.  However,
the effect of the new controls on the monthly CPS estimates was to decrease
the January 2004 employment level by 409,000 and the unemployment level by
27,000 relative to the December 2003 level.  The updated controls had lit-
tle or no effect on unemployment rates and other ratios.  For additional
information, see "Adjustments to Household Survey Population Estimates in
January 2004" in the February 2004 issue of Employment and Earnings, avail-
able on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps04adj.pdf.
   
   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 de-
pending 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 infor-
mation, 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.
   
                                  - 5 -

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 of 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)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2003                                    2004                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                             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................... 122,358  15,776   12.9   17,448   14.3  123,554  15,472   12.5   17,087   13.8 
       16 to 24 years............................  18,904     966    5.1    1,124    5.9   19,109     890    4.7    1,019    5.3 
       25 years and over......................... 103,454  14,810   14.3   16,324   15.8  104,444  14,581   14.0   16,069   15.4 
        25 to 34 years...........................  28,179   3,097   11.0    3,455   12.3   28,202   2,982   10.6    3,316   11.8 
        35 to 44 years...........................  30,714   4,308   14.0    4,717   15.4   30,470   4,173   13.7    4,590   15.1 
        45 to 54 years...........................  27,567   4,848   17.6    5,307   19.3   28,039   4,771   17.0    5,233   18.7 
        55 to 64 years...........................  13,633   2,300   16.9    2,547   18.7   14,239   2,390   16.8    2,617   18.4 
        65 years and over........................   3,361     258    7.7      297    8.8    3,495     264    7.5      314    9.0 
                                                                                                                                 
       Men, 16 years and over....................  63,236   9,044   14.3    9,848   15.6   64,145   8,878   13.8    9,638   15.0 
        16 to 24 years...........................   9,683     595    6.1      685    7.1    9,835     557    5.7      627    6.4 
        25 years and over........................  53,553   8,450   15.8    9,163   17.1   54,310   8,321   15.3    9,010   16.6 
         25 to 34 years..........................  15,263   1,826   12.0    2,005   13.1   15,391   1,722   11.2    1,873   12.2 
         35 to 44 years..........................  16,080   2,535   15.8    2,735   17.0   16,035   2,449   15.3    2,658   16.6 
         45 to 54 years..........................  13,723   2,684   19.6    2,891   21.1   14,026   2,699   19.2    2,903   20.7 
         55 to 64 years..........................   6,776   1,271   18.8    1,377   20.3    7,117   1,309   18.4    1,414   19.9 
         65 years and over.......................   1,710     133    7.8      155    9.0    1,741     142    8.2      163    9.4 
                                                                                                                                 
       Women, 16 years and over..................  59,122   6,732   11.4    7,601   12.9   59,408   6,593   11.1    7,450   12.5 
        16 to 24 years...........................   9,221     371    4.0      439    4.8    9,274     333    3.6      391    4.2 
        25 years and over........................  49,901   6,360   12.7    7,161   14.4   50,134   6,260   12.5    7,058   14.1 
         25 to 34 years..........................  12,916   1,270    9.8    1,451   11.2   12,811   1,261    9.8    1,443   11.3 
         35 to 44 years..........................  14,634   1,773   12.1    1,982   13.5   14,435   1,725   11.9    1,931   13.4 
         45 to 54 years..........................  13,844   2,163   15.6    2,416   17.5   14,014   2,072   14.8    2,330   16.6 
         55 to 64 years..........................   6,857   1,029   15.0    1,170   17.1    7,122   1,081   15.2    1,203   16.9 
         65 years and over.......................   1,651     125    7.6      142    8.6    1,753     121    6.9      151    8.6 
                                                                                                                                 
     RACE, SEX, AND HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
       White, 16 years and over.................. 100,589  12,535   12.5   13,849   13.8  101,340  12,381   12.2   13,657   13.5 
         Men.....................................  52,827   7,378   14.0    8,016   15.2   53,432   7,260   13.6    7,854   14.7 
         Women...................................  47,762   5,157   10.8    5,834   12.2   47,908   5,121   10.7    5,803   12.1 
                                                                                                                                 
       Black or African American, 16 years and                                                                                   
     over........................................  13,928   2,298   16.5    2,540   18.2   14,090   2,130   15.1    2,355   16.7 
         Men.....................................   6,302   1,153   18.3    1,249   19.8    6,409   1,085   16.9    1,185   18.5 
         Women...................................   7,626   1,145   15.0    1,291   16.9    7,681   1,045   13.6    1,170   15.2 
                                                                                                                                 
       Asian, 16 years and over..................   5,096     581   11.4      659   12.9    5,280     603   11.4      670   12.7 
         Men.....................................   2,699     296   11.0      346   12.8    2,815     328   11.7      371   13.2 
         Women...................................   2,397     285   11.9      313   13.1    2,465     275   11.1      299   12.1 
                                                                                                                                 
       Hispanic or Latino, 16 years and over.....  16,068   1,712   10.7    1,913   11.9   16,533   1,676   10.1    1,888   11.4 
         Men.....................................   9,567   1,050   11.0    1,160   12.1    9,857   1,016   10.3    1,130   11.5 
         Women...................................   6,501     662   10.2      753   11.6    6,676     661    9.9      758   11.4 
                                                                                                                                 
             FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS(3)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                 
       Full-time workers......................... 100,302  14,263   14.2   15,732   15.7  101,224  14,029   13.9   15,463   15.3 
       Part-time workers.........................  21,809   1,479    6.8    1,679    7.7   22,047   1,406    6.4    1,587    7.2 

       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 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:  Beginning in January 2004, 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
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2003                                    2004                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                    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...................    $620      $760      $755      $599      $638      $781      $776      $612  
       16 to 24 years............................     387       497       494       381       390       498       494       385  
       25 years and over.........................     662       774       770       636       683       798       793       656  
        25 to 34 years...........................     594       707       701       580       604       724       717       590  
        35 to 44 years...........................     687       787       783       665       713       813       808       690  
        45 to 54 years...........................     723       812       807       695       743       834       831       718  
        55 to 64 years...........................     708       797       798       678       725       835       835       693  
        65 years and over........................     516       619       624       504       560       728       744       520  
                                                                                                                                 
       Men, 16 years and over....................     695       805       802       667       713       829       828       685  
        16 to 24 years...........................     398       498       493       392       400       504       496       395  
        25 years and over........................     744       821       821       724       762       846       846       743  
         25 to 34 years..........................     628       737       732       613       639       751       748       620  
         35 to 44 years..........................     775       841       839       759       804       868       865       787  
         45 to 54 years..........................     834       865       865       822       857       878       881       847  
         55 to 64 years..........................     827       834       842       821       843       870       877       829  
         65 years and over.......................     612       713       720       603       641       753       776       620  
                                                                                                                                 
       Women, 16 years and over..................     552       696       691       523       573       723       719       541  
        16 to 24 years...........................     371       495       494       366       375       487       491       370  
        25 years and over........................     584       709       704       562       599       733       730       580  
         25 to 34 years..........................     546       661       657       525       561       678       665       541  
         35 to 44 years..........................     590       706       703       574       608       735       733       590  
         45 to 54 years..........................     609       736       731       589       625       758       755       604  
         55 to 64 years..........................     601       748       743       576       615       767       767       592  
         65 years and over.......................     435       517       531       422       478       687       733       455  
                                                                                                                                 
               RACE, SEX, AND HISPANIC                                                                                           
                 OR LATINO ETHNICITY                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                 
       White, 16 years and over..................     636       779       774       612       657       808       802       626  
         Men.....................................     715       827       825       688       732       855       854       704  
         Women...................................     567       711       707       539       584       738       734       557  
                                                                                                                                 
       Black or African American, 16 years and                                                                                   
        over.....................................     514       665       654       491       525       656       651       507  
         Men.....................................     555       693       687       518       569       679       679       534  
         Women...................................     491       633       622       467       505       629       621       490  
                                                                                                                                 
       Asian, 16 years and over..................     693       759       760       681       708       765       774       691  
         Men.....................................     772       783       775       771       802       775       786       809  
         Women...................................     598       710       723       587       613       756       762       594  
                                                                                                                                 
       Hispanic or Latino, 16 years and over.....     440       632       622       419       456       679       670       428  
         Men.....................................     464       664       652       437       480       697       690       455  
         Women...................................     410       586       584       394       419       623       616       401  

       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:  Beginning in January 2004, 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)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2003                                    2004                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                             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................................  40,883   5,331   13.0    6,130   15.0   41,451   5,418   13.1    6,256   15.1 
         Management, business, and financial                                                                                     
          operations occupations.................  15,465     727    4.7      882    5.7   15,758     732    4.6      895    5.7 
             Management occupations..............  10,713     436    4.1      546    5.1   10,796     441    4.1      553    5.1 
             Business and financial operations                                                                                   
              occupations........................   4,753     291    6.1      336    7.1    4,962     291    5.9      342    6.9 
         Professional and related occupations....  25,418   4,604   18.1    5,248   20.6   25,693   4,686   18.2    5,361   20.9 
             Computer and mathematical 
              occupations........................   2,947     154    5.2      197    6.7    2,962     128    4.3      171    5.8
             Architecture and engineering                                                                                        
              occupations........................   2,592     202    7.8      240    9.2    2,597     209    8.0      246    9.5 
             Life, physical, and social science                                                                                  
              occupations........................   1,203     108    9.0      136   11.3    1,204     106    8.8      129   10.7 
             Community and social services                                                                                       
              occupations........................   2,118     351   16.6      395   18.6    2,132     370   17.4      422   19.8 
             Legal occupations...................   1,134      54    4.8       65    5.7    1,216      75    6.2       92    7.6 
             Education, training, and library                                                                                    
              occupations........................   7,584   2,861   37.7    3,207   42.3    7,636   2,874   37.6    3,235   42.4 
             Arts, design, entertainment, sports,                                                                                
              and media occupations..............   1,879     140    7.5      157    8.4    1,894     162    8.6      184    9.7 
             Healthcare practitioner and                                                                                         
              technical occupations..............   5,961     733   12.3      853   14.3    6,052     762   12.6      882   14.6 
     Service occupations.........................  20,183   2,318   11.5    2,562   12.7   20,724   2,371   11.4    2,552   12.3 
         Healthcare support occupations..........   2,824     312   11.0      341   12.1    2,791     290   10.4      315   11.3 
         Protective service occupations..........   2,699     974   36.1    1,038   38.5    2,840   1,059   37.3    1,118   39.4 
         Food preparation and serving related                                                                                    
          occupations............................   7,150     292    4.1      347    4.9    7,164     294    4.1      337    4.7 
         Building and grounds cleaning and                                                                                       
          maintenance occupations................   4,426     490   11.1      550   12.4    4,597     490   10.7      529   11.5 
         Personal care and service occupations...   3,084     251    8.1      286    9.3    3,331     238    7.1      254    7.6 
     Sales and office occupations................  32,323   2,642    8.2    2,974    9.2   32,322   2,493    7.7    2,780    8.6 
         Sales and related occupations...........  13,378     533    4.0      599    4.5   13,527     488    3.6      548    4.1 
         Office and administrative support                                                                                       
          occupations............................  18,945   2,109   11.1    2,375   12.5   18,795   2,005   10.7    2,232   11.9 
     Natural resources, construction, and                                                                                        
      maintenance occupations....................  11,894   2,288   19.2    2,409   20.3   12,081   2,222   18.4    2,343   19.4 
         Farming, fishing, and forestry
          occupations............................     921      33    3.5       38    4.1      862      27    3.1       34    3.9
         Construction and extraction occupation..   6,412   1,394   21.7    1,457   22.7    6,680   1,312   19.6    1,370   20.5 
         Installation, maintenance, and repair                                                                                   
          occupations............................   4,560     862   18.9      913   20.0    4,540     883   19.4      939   20.7 
     Production, transportation, and material                                                                                    
      moving occupations.........................  17,074   3,196   18.7    3,374   19.8   16,976   2,968   17.5    3,156   18.6 
         Production occupations..................   9,261   1,624   17.5    1,710   18.5    9,085   1,485   16.3    1,582   17.4 
         Transportation and material moving
          occupations............................   7,814   1,572   20.1    1,664   21.3    7,891   1,483   18.8    1,574   20.0
                                                                                                                                 
                       INDUSTRY                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                 
     Private sector.............................. 102,648   8,452    8.2    9,264    9.0  103,584   8,205    7.9    8,956    8.6 
       Agriculture and related industries........   1,089      17    1.6       23    2.1    1,023      23    2.2       30    2.9 
       Nonagricultural industries................ 101,559   8,435    8.3    9,241    9.1  102,560   8,182    8.0    8,926    8.7 
          Mining.................................     504      46    9.1       53   10.5      496      57   11.4       58   11.7 
          Construction...........................   7,126   1,139   16.0    1,188   16.7    7,550   1,110   14.7    1,162   15.4 
          Manufacturing..........................  16,130   2,173   13.5    2,314   14.3   15,754   2,036   12.9    2,183   13.9 
              Durable goods......................  10,049   1,411   14.0    1,497   14.9    9,885   1,316   13.3    1,407   14.2 
              Nondurable goods...................   6,081     762   12.5      817   13.4    5,869     720   12.3      776   13.2 
          Wholesale and retail trade.............  18,343   1,130    6.2    1,210    6.6   18,754   1,028    5.5    1,107    5.9 
              Wholesale trade....................   3,878     197    5.1      213    5.5    4,083     189    4.6      214    5.2 
              Retail trade.......................  14,466     933    6.4      997    6.9   14,671     839    5.7      893    6.1 
          Transportation and utilities...........   4,942   1,294   26.2    1,350   27.3    4,893   1,218   24.9    1,287   26.3 
              Transportation and warehousing.....   4,081   1,051   25.8    1,094   26.8    4,043     976   24.2    1,031   25.5 
              Utilities..........................     861     243   28.2      256   29.8      850     241   28.4      256   30.1 
          Information(3).........................   3,297     448   13.6      481   14.6    3,058     433   14.2      470   15.4 
              Publishing, except Internet........     781      58    7.4       60    7.7      778      52    6.7       59    7.6 
              Motion pictures and sound recording     333      40   12.0       46   13.8      329      52   15.7       54   16.4 
              Broadcasting, except Internet......     489      45    9.2       48    9.7      502      47    9.3       53   10.5 
              Telecommunications.................   1,414     296   21.0      316   22.3    1,218     273   22.4      292   24.0 
          Financial activities...................   8,360     176    2.1      237    2.8    8,490     171    2.0      209    2.5 
              Finance and insurance..............   6,246      98    1.6      142    2.3    6,301      96    1.5      124    2.0 
                   Finance.......................   4,079      63    1.5       96    2.3    4,111      56    1.4       73    1.8 
                   Insurance.....................   2,167      35    1.6       47    2.1    2,191      40    1.8       51    2.3 
              Real estate and rental and leasing.   2,114      77    3.7       95    4.5    2,188      76    3.5       85    3.9 
          Professional and business services.....  10,588     243    2.3      312    2.9   10,815     246    2.3      306    2.8 
              Professional and technical services   6,146      88    1.4      125    2.0    6,263      70    1.1      102    1.6 
              Management, administrative, and                                                                                    
               waste services....................   4,443     155    3.5      187    4.2    4,552     177    3.9      204    4.5 
          Education and health services..........  16,635   1,324    8.0    1,560    9.4   16,870   1,405    8.3    1,593    9.4 
              Educational services...............   3,062     371   12.1      452   14.8    3,243     421   13.0      475   14.6 
              Health care and social assistance..  13,573     953    7.0    1,108    8.2   13,627     984    7.2    1,119    8.2 
          Leisure and hospitality................  10,207     281    2.8      333    3.3   10,326     319    3.1      368    3.6 
              Arts, entertainment, and recreation   1,764      95    5.4      111    6.3    1,777     114    6.4      123    6.9 
              Accommodation and food services....   8,443     187    2.2      222    2.6    8,548     205    2.4      245    2.9 
                  Accommodation..................   1,396     116    8.3      126    9.0    1,431     117    8.2      132    9.2 
                  Food services and drinking                                                                                     
                   places........................   7,046      70    1.0       96    1.4    7,117      88    1.2      112    1.6 
          Other services(3)......................   5,425     181    3.3      203    3.7    5,556     158    2.8      183    3.3 
              Other services, except private                                                                                     
               households........................   4,645     174    3.8      196    4.2    4,782     148    3.1      172    3.6 
                                                                                                                                 
     Public sector...............................  19,710   7,324   37.2    8,185   41.5   19,970   7,267   36.4    8,131   40.7 
         Federal goverment.......................   3,247   1,004   30.9    1,196   36.8    3,298     985   29.9    1,153   35.0 
         State government........................   5,636   1,706   30.3    1,929   34.2    5,712   1,751   30.7    1,961   34.3 
         Local government........................  10,827   4,614   42.6    5,060   46.7   10,961   4,532   41.3    5,017   45.8 

       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.
       3 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
       NOTE:  Beginning in January 2004, 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.







     Table 4.  Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation, occupation, and industry
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2003                                    2004                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
               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................................     $887      $896      $892      $886      $918      $921      $916      $918 
         Management, business, and financial                                                                                     
          operations occupations.................      961       985       994       959       965       963       972       965 
             Management occupations..............    1,023     1,102     1,109     1,019     1,052     1,065     1,074     1,050 
             Business and financial operations                                                                                   
              occupations........................      842       864       873       839       847       880       881       844 
         Professional and related occupations....      845       885       879       833       883       915       907       875 
             Computer and mathematical                                                                                           
              occupations........................    1,049       963       979     1,057     1,114     1,000       983     1,124 
             Architecture and engineering                                                                                        
              occupations........................    1,053     1,037     1,028     1,058     1,098     1,080     1,090     1,100 
             Life, physical, and social science                                                                                  
              occupations........................      891       944       945       876       957       949       977       955 
             Community and social services                                                                                       
              occupations........................      686       848       832       650       707       827       817       666 
             Legal occupations...................    1,051     1,362     1,317     1,032     1,070     1,174     1,155     1,058 
             Education, training, and library                                                                                    
              occupations........................      754       864       854       644       781       899       886       687 
             Arts, design, entertainment, sports,                                                                                
              and media occupations..............      745       947       933       734       768       953       972       754 
             Healthcare practitioner and
              technical occupations..............      816       877       876       801       852       938       933       841
     Service occupations.........................      403       606       596       382       411       655       647       389 
         Healthcare support occupations..........      400       452       452       394       407       458       462       401 
         Protective service occupations..........      630       857       850       510       700       907       897       567 
         Food preparation and serving related                                                                                    
          occupations............................      349       415       410       344       360       445       435       355 
         Building and grounds cleaning and                                                                                       
          maintenance occupations................      390       503       498       372       385       515       513       368 
         Personal care and service occupations...      391       532       520       381       402       522       518       394 
     Sales and office occupations................      545       629       624       530       558       662       658       545 
         Sales and related occupations...........      598       597       601       598       604       576       577       606 
         Office and administrative support
          occupations............................      523       639       632       510       535       676       671       519
     Natural resources, construction, and                                                                                        
      maintenance occupations....................      608       851       843       558       621       867       858       581 
         Farming, fishing, and forestry                                                                                          
          occupations............................      369       (3)       (3)       365       356       (3)       (3)       352 
         Construction and extraction occupations.      599       851       840       531       604       861       852       555 
         Installation, maintenance, and repair                                                                                   
          occupations............................      673       858       856       622       704       886       880       662 
     Production, transportation, and material                                                                                    
      moving occupations.........................      519       688       684       493       523       687       681       498 
         Production occupations..................      519       670       665       495       526       681       674       503 
         Transportation and material moving                                                                                      
          occupations............................      520       710       704       490       520       695       689       491 
                                                                                                                                 
                       INDUSTRY                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                 
     Private sector..............................      603       717       713       592       615       739       734       604 
       Agriculture and related industries........      397       (3)       (3)       396       403       (3)       (3)       402 
       Nonagricultural industries................      605       718       713       595       617       740       735       606 
          Mining.................................      797       (3)       783       799       874       905       911       865 
          Construction...........................      615       884       873       580       618       893       884       588 
          Manufacturing..........................      637       689       689       626       662       694       692       654 
              Durable goods......................      668       714       712       655       691       707       706       687 
              Nondurable goods...................      597       635       637       590       611       670       662       602 
          Wholesale and retail trade.............      533       590       586       528       550       596       590       547 
              Wholesale trade....................      670       694       689       668       677       722       709       674 
              Retail trade.......................      497       562       554       494       509       567       560       507 
          Transportation and utilities...........      704       817       816       653       711       854       850       662 
              Transportation and warehousing.....      668       782       780       620       668       819       814       619 
              Utilities..........................      899       965       979       857       957       979       978       948 
          Information(4).........................      776       868       862       758       828       893       887       808 
              Publishing, except Internet........      690       740       747       684       720       844       829       710 
              Motion pictures and sound recording      704       (3)       (3)       669       805       (3)       (3)       762 
              Broadcasting, except Internet......      724       (3)       (3)       703       763       (3)       (3)       749 
              Telecommunications.................      857       877       875       848       918       910       897       929 
          Financial activities...................      691       618       625       694       706       657       649       708 
              Finance and insurance..............      728       607       623       732       738       636       629       740 
                   Finance.......................      726       614       640       730       735       606       616       737 
                   Insurance.....................      731       (3)       (3)       734       743       (3)       (3)       744 
              Real estate and rental and leasing.      604       642       630       603       615       677       670       613 
          Professional and business services.....      692       699       691       692       709       679       694       710 
              Professional and technical services      885       897       911       884       927       940       937       927 
              Management, administrative, and                                                                                    
               waste services....................      486       640       617       482       478       607       606       470 
          Education and health services..........      598       670       684       590       613       717       728       603 
              Educational services...............      681       756       760       659       716       828       831       679 
              Health care and social assistance..      582       627       639       577       595       656       671       588 
          Leisure and hospitality................      400       497       485       395       407       518       508       402 
              Arts, entertainment, and recreation      492       546       529       489       523       677       662       513 
              Accommodation and food services....      385       478       470       381       391       477       473       387 
                  Accommodation..................      435       485       482       423       432       481       490       422 
                  Food services and drinking                                                                                     
                   places........................      371       467       456       369       378       467       422       377 
          Other services(4)......................      515       726       709       510       528       749       750       521 
              Other services, except private                                                                                     
               households........................      544       730       720       533       560       764       764       551 
                                                                                                                                 
     Public sector...............................      728       801       795       656       751       832       827       683 
         Federal goverment.......................      818       809       816       821       856       840       848       869 
         State government........................      702       764       759       652       725       788       781       681 
         Local government........................      709       814       803       606       731       844       834       627 

       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:  Beginning in January 2004, 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.





  
     Table 5. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                    2003                                    2004                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                             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...................................   1,822     147    8.1      172    9.5    1,861     181    9.7      213   11.5 
       Alaska....................................     265      59   22.3       65   24.6      268      54   20.1       60   22.4 
       Arizona...................................   2,191     113    5.2      140    6.4    2,323     145    6.3      183    7.9 
       Arkansas..................................   1,035      50    4.8       61    5.9    1,058      51    4.8       65    6.2 
       California................................  14,350   2,414   16.8    2,647   18.4   14,414   2,385   16.5    2,588   18.0 
       Colorado..................................   2,007     156    7.8      180    9.0    2,050     172    8.4      191    9.3 
       Connecticut...............................   1,489     229   15.4      244   16.4    1,539     235   15.3      256   16.6 
       Delaware..................................     366      42   11.4       46   12.5      373      46   12.4       49   13.2 
       District of Columbia......................     268      39   14.6       46   17.2      258      33   12.7       38   14.5 
       Florida...................................   6,652     407    6.1      557    8.4    6,943     414    6.0      533    7.7 
                                                                                                                                 
       Georgia...................................   3,703     249    6.7      298    8.0    3,773     242    6.4      282    7.5 
       Hawaii....................................     511     122   23.8      127   24.8      533     126   23.7      132   24.8 
       Idaho.....................................     548      39    7.0       47    8.6      561      33    5.8       44    7.9 
       Illinois..................................   5,399     967   17.9    1,003   18.6    5,410     908   16.8      971   17.9 
       Indiana...................................   2,768     327   11.8      352   12.7    2,717     311   11.4      338   12.4 
       Iowa......................................   1,365     157   11.5      196   14.4    1,345     141   10.5      171   12.7 
       Kansas....................................   1,204      96    7.9      124   10.3    1,223     103    8.4      132   10.8 
       Kentucky..................................   1,681     175   10.4      216   12.8    1,699     164    9.6      197   11.6 
       Louisiana.................................   1,685     109    6.5      132    7.9    1,697     129    7.6      157    9.3 
       Maine.....................................     567      73   12.8       81   14.3      564      64   11.3       74   13.2 
                                                                                                                                 
       Maryland..................................   2,481     354   14.3      410   16.5    2,502     272   10.9      313   12.5 
       Massachusetts.............................   2,925     416   14.2      454   15.5    2,920     393   13.5      430   14.7 
       Michigan..................................   4,188     919   21.9      968   23.1    4,305     930   21.6      966   22.4 
       Minnesota.................................   2,435     414   17.0      441   18.1    2,429     424   17.5      443   18.3 
       Mississippi...............................   1,117      55    5.0       73    6.6    1,108      53    4.8       70    6.3 
       Missouri..................................   2,546     336   13.2      363   14.2    2,546     315   12.4      357   14.0 
       Montana...................................     360      50   14.0       54   14.9      366      43   11.7       46   12.6 
       Nebraska..................................     819      64    7.9       87   10.6      831      69    8.3       83   10.0 
       Nevada....................................     943     136   14.4      149   15.8    1,006     126   12.5      144   14.3 
       New Hampshire.............................     607      56    9.3       69   11.3      618      61    9.9       68   11.0 
                                                                                                                                 
       New Jersey................................   3,777     737   19.5      801   21.2    3,769     745   19.8      813   21.6 
       New Mexico................................     741      57    7.6       70    9.5      734      49    6.7       65    8.9 
       New York..................................   7,874   1,936   24.6    2,017   25.6    7,901   1,996   25.3    2,085   26.4 
       North Carolina............................   3,576     111    3.1      135    3.8    3,549      97    2.7      127    3.6 
       North Dakota..............................     284      21    7.3       26    9.0      292      22    7.7       26    9.0 
       Ohio......................................   5,100     850   16.7      923   18.1    4,998     759   15.2      820   16.4 
       Oklahoma..................................   1,406      96    6.8      111    7.9    1,402      86    6.1      100    7.1 
       Oregon....................................   1,466     230   15.7      240   16.4    1,471     224   15.2      243   16.5 
       Pennsylvania..............................   5,261     794   15.1      847   16.1    5,298     793   15.0      842   15.9 
       Rhode Island..............................     494      84   17.0       86   17.5      487      79   16.3       83   17.0 
                                                                                                                                 
       South Carolina............................   1,689      71    4.2       90    5.3    1,765      54    3.0       74    4.2 
       South Dakota..............................     353      19    5.4       23    6.4      347      21    6.0       27    7.7 
       Tennessee.................................   2,384     179    7.5      218    9.2    2,465     164    6.7      191    7.7 
       Texas.....................................   9,072     508    5.6      621    6.8    9,072     457    5.0      573    6.3 
       Utah......................................   1,015      53    5.2       69    6.8    1,001      58    5.8       67    6.7 
       Vermont...................................     281      27    9.7       33   11.7      291      29    9.8       33   11.4 
       Virginia..................................   3,243     210    6.5      251    7.7    3,308     176    5.3      218    6.6 
       Washington................................   2,539     502   19.7      531   20.9    2,645     510   19.3      536   20.3 
       West Virginia.............................     671      88   13.1       95   14.2      700      99   14.2      110   15.7 
       Wisconsin.................................   2,613     414   15.9      438   16.8    2,597     414   16.0      439   16.9 
       Wyoming...................................     224      18    8.0       22    9.8      222      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:  Beginning in January 2004, 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.