Utah's union membership rates among nation's lowest
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Utah has one of the lowest rates of unionization in the United States.
Driving the news: About 4.1% of employed Utahns belonged to a union in 2023, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- That's the fourth lowest of any state, below only the Carolinas and South Dakota.
Why it matters: Advocates say unions are a needed proponent of worker rights and compensation, while critics argue unions throttle progress in the workplace.
Catch up quick: Utah's union rates have risen from their nadir of 3.5% in 2021.
- Yes, but: That hasn't made up for the drops since 2000, when 7.4% of workers in the state were union members.
Flashback: A century or so ago, Utah was a flashpoint for the U.S. labor movement, with rail workers and miners rallying around world-famous organizers.
Zoom out: Nationally, 10% of the workforce was part of a union in 2023, down from 10.1% in 2022 and a high of 20.1% in 1983, the first year the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported comparable figures.
- 14.4 million workers were union members in 2023, up from 14.3 million in 2022 — but the percentage fell because the workforce grew at a faster rate than union membership.
Context: The slight drop in the union membership rate came during a year of significant action for Big Labor, including:
- The United Auto Workers scoring record contracts from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis after an unprecedented strike.
- The Teamsters winning concessions from UPS without a strike.
- Hollywood actors and writers unions getting new deals after bruising work stoppages.
Of note: The decrease in the union membership rate also came despite the approval of unions in 2022 reaching its highest point since 1965, according to Gallup.
ICYMI: We recounted some of Utah's spicy union history around Labor Day.