Union Membership Plummets To Lowest Level Since The 1930s

By Sam Hananel


The nation's labor unions suffered sharp declines in membership last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, led by losses in the public sector as cash-strapped state and local governments laid off workers and -- in some cases -- limited collective bargaining rights. The union membership rate fell from 11.8 percent to 11.3 percent of all workers, the lowest level since the 1930s.