States With The Strongest And Weakest Unions

In Iowa, a so-called right-to-work state since 1947, just 6.6% of the 1.4 million strong workforce are union members. As is the case in many other states, production or manufacturing occupations have the highest union membership rates.

Union membership has declined precipitously in Iowa in recent years. As recently as 2000, the share of workers in a union in the state was double what it is now. Some attribute the decline to new laws that reduced the collective bargaining power of public sector unions in the state. There were over 77,200 public sector union members in Iowa in 2010, compared to less than 48,000 in 2020.

Just over 53,000 workers in New Mexico are members of a labor union — equal to 7.2% of the state’s total workforce. Overall employment was hit hard in New Mexico during the Great Recession, and so too were labor unions. In the years since, however, union membership has come back slightly, and as a result, the share of workers in a union is only 0.2 percentage points lower now than it was in 2010.

With limited union membership, workers in the state are at a disadvantage in contract negotiations, and partially as a result, incomes are generally low in the state. The average annual wage in New Mexico is just $47,040, well below the national average of $53,490.

There are just over 74,000 union members in Mississippi, or 7.2% of the state’s total workforce. Unlike many other states with lower than average union membership, unions are gaining strength in Mississippi. The share of unionized workers in the state is 2.7 percentage points higher now than in 2010.

The increase came despite at least one major setback for organized labor in 2017. Workers at a Nissan plant were fighting for the right to unionize but were ultimately defeated following an anti-union campaign spearheaded by the automaker.

Just 7.4% of workers in Colorado belong to a labor union, a smaller share than in most other states. Labor union strength in the state has been volatile in recent years. Since 1989, as far back as comparable data is available, labor union participation peaked in Colorado in 2018, when 11% of the labor force were unionized. Participation in organized labor in the state bottomed out in 2010, when only 6.6% of workers were unionized.

Along with Virginia, Colorado is one of only two states where computer and mathematical occupations have the strongest union participation.

Kentucky is the most recent state to enact so-called right-to-work laws, joining 26 other states in 2017 — and those laws appear to be having a meaningful impact on organized labor. As recently as 2016, the share of workers in a labor union in Kentucky was 11.1%. As of 2020, unionized workers comprised only 7.5% of the workforce.

In 2018, the Kentucky American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations challenged the state’s right-to-work laws. However, the challenge was denied in a 4-3 decision in the state Supreme Court.