What a Union Is
A union is a group of workers who join together to bargain with their employer over pay, hours and working conditions. Once a majority of workers in a group chooses a union, federal law requires the employer to bargain with it in good faith, and the result is usually a written contract that covers everyone in the group (NLRB).
Key facts
- 10.0% of U.S. wage and salary workers, 14.7 million people, were union members in 2025 (BLS).
- The rate was 20.1% in 1983, the first year of comparable data, when 17.7 million workers belonged (BLS).
- Workers can file for a union election with signed support from at least 30% of the group (NLRB).
- Full-time union members earned a median $1,404 a week in 2025, against $1,174 for nonunion workers (BLS).
Federal law gives employees the right “to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing,” and to act together “for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection” (29 U.S.C. 157).
- 10.0%
- Workers who were union members, 2025
- 32.9%
- Public-sector workers who were members
- 5.9%
- Private-sector workers who were members
- 30
- Major strikes and lockouts that began in 2025
How to Start a Union
To start a union, workers build majority support, then either ask the employer to recognize the union or file for a government-run election. The National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that enforces private-sector labor law, describes two routes: an election, which needs signed support from at least 30% of workers to begin, and voluntary recognition, where the employer agrees after seeing majority support, usually through signed cards (NLRB).
The election route to a union under federal law
- Step 1 Talk with coworkers Find out what people want to change and who is willing to help. Many workers contact an existing union for support at this stage.
- Step 2 Collect signed cards or a petition Each card says the worker wants the union to represent them. At least 30% support is needed to file.
- Step 3 File with the NLRB The petition goes to the nearest NLRB regional office, which checks the showing of support and the proposed group of workers.
- Step 4 Secret-ballot election The NLRB regional director runs the vote, usually at the earliest practicable date. A majority of votes cast decides.
- Step 5 Certification and bargaining If the union wins, the NLRB certifies it and the employer must bargain over a first contract.
Source: NLRB, Conduct Elections and Your Right to Form a Union.
Voluntary recognition skips the election. If the employer recognizes the union after seeing majority support, the union’s status cannot be challenged for a reasonable period of bargaining, which the Board sets at not less than six months and not more than one year (NLRB).
Winning the vote is not the end. Our union busting guide covers the tactics some employers use against a drive and the gap between winning and a first contract. How bargaining itself works, step by step, is in our collective bargaining guide.
Who Can Join a Union
Most private-sector employees are covered by federal labor law, but several groups are left out by its definition of “employee.” The National Labor Relations Act excludes agricultural laborers, domestic workers in a family’s home, people employed by a parent or spouse, independent contractors, supervisors, and workers covered by the Railway Labor Act (29 U.S.C. 152).
The same law does not cover government employers, including the United States, states and local governments (29 U.S.C. 152). Whether teachers, police or other state and local workers can bargain depends on state law, which ranges from full bargaining rights to none. Federal employees fall under a separate law, and the 2025 executive order that removed bargaining rights for much of the federal workforce is covered in our collective bargaining guide.
Who federal labor law covers
Source: 29 U.S.C. 152(2) and 152(3), the NLRA's definitions of employer and employee.
Right-to-work laws do not decide who can join. They decide whether a union contract can require payment of fees. Our right to work guide explains the 26 states with those laws.
Union Membership Over Time
The share of workers in unions has fallen by half since 1983, from 20.1% to 10.0%. That is a drop of 10.1 percentage points in the Bureau of Labor Statistics series. The rate has held near 10% since 2023 (BLS).
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| 1983 | 20.1% |
| 1987 | 17% |
| 1991 | 16% |
| 1995 | 14.9% |
| 1999 | 13.9% |
| 2003 | 12.9% |
| 2007 | 12.1% |
| 2011 | 11.8% |
| 2015 | 11.1% |
| 2019 | 10.3% |
| 2023 | 10% |
| 2025 | 10% |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, series LUU0204899600, annual averages. Every fourth year shown, plus 2025. The 2025 figure is an 11-month average because October survey data were not collected during the shutdown.
The drop is a private-sector story. In 2025, 32.9% of public-sector workers were members, more than five times the private-sector rate of 5.9% (BLS).
Union Membership by State
Union membership ranges from 2.3% of workers in South Dakota to 24.8% in Hawaii. 7 states had rates of 15% or more in 2025, and 11 were under 5% (BLS).
Share of workers who are union members
- 15% or more (7 states)
- 10% to 14.9% (14 states)
- 5% to 9.9% (18 states)
- Under 5% (11 states)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Members 2025, Table 5. BLS says 2025 state estimates should be read with caution because October data were not collected.
| State | 2025 rate | 2024 rate |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| Alaska | 18.1% | 17.7% |
| Arizona | 4.1% | 3.7% |
| Arkansas | 2.8% | 3.5% |
| California | 14.9% | 14.5% |
| Colorado | 5.9% | 7.7% |
| Connecticut | 16.1% | 16.5% |
| Delaware | 10.4% | 8.5% |
| District of Columbia | 9.2% | 10.6% |
| Florida | 5.4% | 5.1% |
| Georgia | 5.1% | 3.8% |
| Hawaii | 24.8% | 26.5% |
| Idaho | 4.1% | 5% |
| Illinois | 13.1% | 13.1% |
| Indiana | 8.3% | 9% |
| Iowa | 6.8% | 6.4% |
| Kansas | 6.2% | 6.3% |
| Kentucky | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Louisiana | 4.4% | 3.9% |
| Maine | 11.9% | 13.1% |
| Maryland | 12.7% | 11.4% |
| Massachusetts | 14.5% | 14.6% |
| Michigan | 13% | 13.4% |
| Minnesota | 14.1% | 14.2% |
| Mississippi | 4.2% | 5.2% |
| Missouri | 9.8% | 8.6% |
| Montana | 11.2% | 11.9% |
| Nebraska | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| Nevada | 13% | 12.1% |
| New Hampshire | 8.9% | 9.2% |
| New Jersey | 14.7% | 16.2% |
| New Mexico | 6.1% | 7.5% |
| New York | 21.3% | 20.6% |
| North Carolina | 2.5% | 2.4% |
| North Dakota | 6% | 5% |
| Ohio | 11.6% | 12.1% |
| Oklahoma | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| Oregon | 15.1% | 15.9% |
| Pennsylvania | 10.9% | 11.7% |
| Rhode Island | 16.1% | 14.5% |
| South Carolina | 2.7% | 2.8% |
| South Dakota | 2.3% | 2.7% |
| Tennessee | 4.8% | 4.7% |
| Texas | 4.9% | 4.5% |
| Utah | 3.8% | 3.7% |
| Vermont | 13.1% | 14.3% |
| Virginia | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Washington | 18% | 16% |
| West Virginia | 8.5% | 8.8% |
| Wisconsin | 6.4% | 6.4% |
| Wyoming | 6% | 5.6% |
State rates move with industry mix, public-sector bargaining laws and history as much as with any single law, so the map shows a pattern, not a cause.
How Much More Union Members Earn
Full-time union members earned a median $1,404 a week in 2025, $230 or about 20% more than the $1,174 nonunion workers earned (BLS).
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Union members | $1404 |
| Nonunion workers | $1174 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union Members 2025.
The raw gap is not the whole effect of a union card. Union members are more likely to work in some industries, places and age groups than others, and a simple median does not adjust for those differences. Our collective bargaining guide covers what contracts include beyond pay, such as health coverage and grievance rights.
What a Strike Is
A strike is when workers stop working together to press their employer, usually during contract talks. Federal law protects the right to strike: nothing in the National Labor Relations Act may “interfere with or impede or diminish in any way the right to strike,” except where the Act itself sets limits (29 U.S.C. 163).
That right has a large exception. In NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. (1938), the Supreme Court held that an employer that has broken no labor law may hire replacements for economic strikers and is “not bound to discharge those hired to fill the places of strikers” when the strike ends (Supreme Court). Workers who strike over the employer’s unfair labor practices have stronger rights to return.
Major strikes have climbed since 2023. BLS counted 30 major work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers that began in 2025, with 306,800 workers. From 2023 through 2025 the average was 31.3 a year, against 17.8 a year from 2006 through 2025 (BLS).
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 20 |
| 2007 | 21 |
| 2008 | 15 |
| 2009 | 5 |
| 2010 | 11 |
| 2011 | 19 |
| 2012 | 19 |
| 2013 | 15 |
| 2014 | 11 |
| 2015 | 12 |
| 2016 | 15 |
| 2017 | 7 |
| 2018 | 20 |
| 2019 | 25 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2021 | 16 |
| 2022 | 23 |
| 2023 | 33 |
| 2024 | 31 |
| 2025 | 30 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, major work stoppages annual listing. The series peaked at 470 in 1952, and the low was 5 in 2009. Counts include strikes and lockouts.
Most 2025 strikers were in education and health services, 196,500 workers, and 232,800 of the year’s strikers worked for state or local governments (BLS). The historic highs were far larger: 381 major stoppages began in 1970 (BLS).
The Labor Board in 2026
The National Labor Relations Board could not decide cases for most of 2025, and in 2026 it has a Republican majority. The five-member Board needs three members to act. It lost that quorum in January 2025 and regained it when new members were confirmed in December 2025 (HR Dive).
- Quorum lost The president removed Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the five-seat board without the three members it needs to decide cases. (source)
- Senate confirms two members James Murphy and Scott Mayer, by a vote of 53 to 43, plus Crystal Carey as general counsel. (source)
- Republican majority set The Senate confirms James Macy and reconfirms Democrat David Prouty, for a 3 to 1 Republican majority with one seat open. (source)
Sources: HR Dive (December 2025) and Ogletree Deakins (August 2026).
The NLRB's membership, 2025 to 2026: Jan 2025: Quorum lost (The president removed Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the five-seat board without the three members it needs to decide cases.). Dec 18, 2025: Senate confirms two members (James Murphy and Scott Mayer, by a vote of 53 to 43, plus Crystal Carey as general counsel.). Aug 7, 2026: Republican majority set (The Senate confirms James Macy and reconfirms Democrat David Prouty, for a 3 to 1 Republican majority with one seat open.).
With a 3 to 1 majority, the Board can overturn precedents set by earlier Boards, so rules on elections, employer speech and remedies can change (Ogletree).
What to Do, by Situation
Common situations
You want to organize your workplace
- Start with a few coworkers you trust, away from work systems and devices.
- Contact a union that represents workers in your industry and ask for an organizer.
- Learn the NLRB election steps, and keep notes with dates if anyone is threatened or disciplined.
Workers who file with at least 30% support get a government-run secret-ballot election.
You were disciplined or fired after talking about a union
- Write down what happened, who said what, and the dates.
- Contact your nearest NLRB regional office.
- File an unfair labor practice charge within six months of the action.
The NLRB cannot act on an unfair labor practice that happened more than six months before the charge was filed (29 U.S.C. 160(b)).
Your union is going on strike
- Ask your union whether the strike is an economic strike or an unfair labor practice strike.
- Ask about strike pay, health coverage and your right to return.
- Check your state's rules on unemployment benefits for strikers.
In an economic strike an employer may hire permanent replacements. Strikers over unfair labor practices have stronger return rights.
You work for a state or local government
- Look up your state's public-employee bargaining law.
- Contact the union that represents your job title, if there is one.
The National Labor Relations Act does not cover government employers, so state law decides your rights.
General information, not legal advice.
Labor Union Questions
What is a union?
A union is a group of workers who join together to bargain with their employer over pay, hours and working conditions. Under federal law, once a majority of workers in a unit chooses a union, the employer must bargain with it in good faith. In 2025, 10.0% of U.S. wage and salary workers, 14.7 million people, were union members.
What is a strike?
A strike is when workers stop working together to press their employer, usually over a contract. Federal labor law protects the right to strike for most private-sector workers, with limits. An employer may not fire workers for a lawful strike, but in an economic strike it may hire permanent replacements.
How do you start a union?
Talk with coworkers, contact a union that represents workers in your field, and collect signed cards or a petition. With support from at least 30% of workers, you can file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, which runs a secret-ballot election decided by a majority of votes cast. An employer can also recognize the union voluntarily after seeing majority support.
Who cannot join a union?
Federal labor law does not cover supervisors, independent contractors, agricultural laborers, domestic workers in a family home, or people employed by a parent or spouse. It also does not cover government employees; state law decides whether state and local workers can bargain, and a separate federal law covers most federal workers.
Do union members earn more?
In 2025, union members who worked full time had median weekly earnings of $1,404, compared with $1,174 for nonunion workers, about 20% more. That raw gap also reflects differences in jobs, industries and places, not only union membership.
Why are fewer workers in unions?
The union membership rate fell from 20.1% in 1983 to 10.0% in 2025. The drop is concentrated in the private sector, where 5.9% of workers are members, compared with 32.9% in the public sector.
What You Can Do
- Talk about pay with coworkers. Sharing wages and conditions with each other is protected activity for most private-sector workers.
- Find the union for your field. Ask an organizer how they protect the names of early contacts.
- Know the deadline. An unfair labor practice charge must be filed with the NLRB within six months (29 U.S.C. 160).
- Check your state’s public-sector law if you work for a school district, city, county or state agency.
- Read the related guides: right to work, union busting and collective bargaining.