States With The Strongest And Weakest Unions

Only 5.6% of the more than three-quarters of a million people working in Idaho are union members. Idaho became a “right-to-work” state in 1985 and union membership in the state peaked in 1993, when 10.7% of workers were in a labor union.

Though the share of workers in a labor union is 1.5 percentage points below where it was in 2010, membership has fluctuated in the last decade. As it stands, union membership is stronger now in Idaho than it was in 2013 and 2018 when it bottomed out at 4.7%.

Just under 100,000 workers in Louisiana are members of a labor union — equal to 5.9% of the state’s total workforce. Like other states with lower than average labor union membership, Louisiana is a so-called right-to-work state.

Unlike other states with low membership, however, unions appear to be gaining strength in Louisiana. Since 2010, the share of workers in a union has increased by 1.5 percentage points, more than in all but four other states. Union membership peaked in 1993, when union members accounted for nearly 10% of workers. Membership hit an all time low in 2016, when only 4.2% of workers were unionized.

Only 6.0% of workers in Oklahoma are members of a labor union, a smaller share than in all but a dozen other states.

Labor unions have a storied history in Oklahoma. A multi-year strike organized by the United Mine Workers of America resulted in an eight-hour workday and higher wages for Oklahoma miners in 1903. Unions, including United Auto Workers, which reported surging membership in the state in the 1970s, continued to play a major role in the state labor market throughout the 20th century. However, Oklahoma became a “right-to-work” state in 2001, and membership has not topped the high of 10.6% reached in 1990 since.

Only 21,000 workers in North Dakota are union members — equal to 6.2% of the state’s total workforce. As is the case in much of the country, the power of organized labor in the state has been eroding for decades. Union membership peaked in North Dakota in 1990, when 11.9% of workers were unionized. In the last decade alone, the share of union membership has fallen by 1.1 percentage points.

However, due in part to a boom in natural gas extraction in the state in the last 10 years, the share of workers who are labor union members is now well above the all time low of 5.0% reached in 2014.

Just over half a million people — or 6.4% of all workers — in Florida are members of a labor union. While union membership is eroding nationwide, in Florida, it is increasing. The share of workers in a union in the state increased by nearly a full percentage point between 2010 and 2020.

Some lawmakers in Florida are taking aim at teachers unions. In March 2021, a bill was introduced in the state legislature that would prohibit teachers from having their dues taken directly out of their paychecks. Critics claim the proposal is a thinly veiled attempt to weaken teacher’s unions.