What Jeff Bezos Will Be Doing After Amazon and More Side Projects of Billionaires

John Csiszar
Jeff Bezos stands in front of Blue Origin shuttle
Jeff Bezos stands in front of Blue Origin shuttle

Few things have been as important to the development of a strong middle class in America as the labor union. In their heyday, labor unions were an essential piece of the social fabric that helped ensure that workers could have a strong voice in getting paid fair wages, securing important benefits and ensuring safe working conditions. However, the days of organized labor wielding enormous influence are largely gone as union memberships continue to shrink in the face of an ever-shifting economy. From 1983 to 2015, union rolls shrank by nearly 3 million workers even as over 45 million more people joined the workforce, and the proportion of workers in a union was cut in half over that same period. So, what does the face of American organized labor look like today? What unions still command the largest membership base, allowing them to influence public policy and pressure companies into making concessions? Read: Which Workers' Protests Created Lasting Change GOBankingRates looked at the membership numbers from some 78 different unions as available through the Department of Labor and identified 30 that still have at least 100,000 members. Some of them are among the most powerful unions in the nation and have led strikes that changed America. Last updated: April 23, 2021

Young man painting a wall blue with a roller.
Young man painting a wall blue with a roller.

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)

  • Total membership: 111,138

  • Description: Construction-industry painters

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

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Los Angeles, Califirnia, USA - November 19, 2012: A mail carrier walks down a busy commercial and retail section of Santa Monica Blvd delivering letters and packages.
Los Angeles, Califirnia, USA - November 19, 2012: A mail carrier walks down a busy commercial and retail section of Santa Monica Blvd delivering letters and packages.

National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA)

  • Total membership: 114,598

  • Description: United States Postal Service (USPS) mail delivery workers in rural areas

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? No

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Blue collar worker or engineer working in industrial production plant, dealing with metal processing, hydraulic machinery, production lines and other pprocessing industry machines.
Blue collar worker or engineer working in industrial production plant, dealing with metal processing, hydraulic machinery, production lines and other pprocessing industry machines.

International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (IW)

  • Total membership: 128,511

  • Description: Ironworkers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

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Smiling licensed vocational nurse working with senior patient and measuring blood pressure in the doctors office
Smiling licensed vocational nurse working with senior patient and measuring blood pressure in the doctors office

National Nurses United (NNU)

  • Total membership: 130,515

  • Description: Nurses

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Portrait of mature woman driving a school bus.
Portrait of mature woman driving a school bus.

Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)

  • Total membership: 134,022

  • Description: Mass transit, railroad and airline workers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Preparing Scenography On Theater Stage.
Preparing Scenography On Theater Stage.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)

  • Total membership: 145,525

  • Description: Entertainment (theater, motion picture and television production, trade shows, television broadcasting and concerts)

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

An elderly patient at the hospital.
An elderly patient at the hospital.

American Nurses Association (ANA)

  • Total membership: 195,884

  • Description: Professional association for registered nurses

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? No

Forest Hills, NY/ USA: 9-12-18- New York Subway MTA Worker Repairing and Working on Train Tracks Service Renovation.
Forest Hills, NY/ USA: 9-12-18- New York Subway MTA Worker Repairing and Working on Train Tracks Service Renovation.

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)

  • Total membership: 199,986

  • Description: Mass transit service workers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Welders with steel.
Welders with steel.

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART)

  • Total membership: 203,280

  • Description: Construction-industry sheet metal workers; also shipbuilders, engineers, conductors, welders and more

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

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Mail Carrier Sorting the mail.
Mail Carrier Sorting the mail.

American Postal Workers Union (APWU)

  • Total membership: 235,253

  • Description: USPS workers other than letter carriers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Medium shot of an actor and actress rehearsing a scene in the theater while holding their scripts.
Medium shot of an actor and actress rehearsing a scene in the theater while holding their scripts.

Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)

  • Total membership: 243,853

  • Description: Actors, recording artists and broadcasters

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

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A mailman delivering mail.
A mailman delivering mail.

National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)

  • Total membership: 290,315

  • Description: USPS mail delivery workers in urban areas

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Chambermaid placing linen on hotel room bed, low angle view.
Chambermaid placing linen on hotel room bed, low angle view.

UNITE HERE

  • Total membership: 301,886

  • Description: Textile and garment manufacturing workers; hotel, restaurant and gaming workers; transportation workers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Firefighters in a fire protection suit wearing firefighter helmet with breathing device and holding fire hose is extinguishing a burning house fire that is putting off excessive heat and smoke.
Firefighters in a fire protection suit wearing firefighter helmet with breathing device and holding fire hose is extinguishing a burning house fire that is putting off excessive heat and smoke.

International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)

  • Total membership: 314,990

  • Description: Municipal firefighters and paramedics

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Rear view of two business people walking outdoors and talking next to an office building after a successful business meeting.
Rear view of two business people walking outdoors and talking next to an office building after a successful business meeting.

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)

  • Total membership: 332,977

  • Description: Miscellaneous U.S. federal government workers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

police officer arresting man
police officer arresting man

Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)

  • Total membership: 339,746

  • Description: Police officers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? No

Young man fixing a leak under the bathroom sink.
Young man fixing a leak under the bathroom sink.

United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA)

  • Total membership: 355,000

  • Description: Journeymen and apprentices of the plumbing, pipe fitting and sprinkler fitting industry

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Construction worker operating equipment
Construction worker operating equipment

International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)

  • Total membership: 394,493

  • Description: Operators of construction equipment; stationary engineers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

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Two workers wearing green shirts and blue pants work underneath a car in an automobile factory.
Two workers wearing green shirts and blue pants work underneath a car in an automobile factory.

United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America International Union (UAW)

  • Total membership: 395,703

  • Description: Automobile, truck, aerospace, farm equipment and construction equipment manufacturing workers and more

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

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Female carpenter Using Electric Sander for wood.
Female carpenter Using Electric Sander for wood.

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC)

  • Total membership: 500,000

  • Description: Building industry carpenters

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? No

Architects looking at the view from a construction site and pointing at a crane.
Architects looking at the view from a construction site and pointing at a crane.

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)

  • Total membership: 573,365

  • Description: Miscellaneous construction workers; aircraft workers and more

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Dangerous Work, Ironworker, Union Member, heavy construction
Dangerous Work, Ironworker, Union Member, heavy construction

United Steelworkers (USW)

  • Total membership: 581,810

  • Description: Steel mill workers; related trades

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Indoor shot of smiling senior man and female carer enjoying coffee in living room.
Indoor shot of smiling senior man and female carer enjoying coffee in living room.

Communications Workers of America (CWA)

  • Total membership: 661,604

  • Description: Telecommunication, customer service, broadcasting, public sector, healthcare and other workers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Electricity power-line installer making repairs
Electricity power-line installer making repairs

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)

  • Total membership: 672,551

  • Description: Electrical manufacturing workers; electric utility workers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Digital payment transaction between cashier and customer
Digital payment transaction between cashier and customer

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)

  • Total membership: 1,248,117

  • Description: Retail store and distribution employees

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

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Confident businesswoman explaining colleagues.
Confident businesswoman explaining colleagues.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

  • Total membership: 1,327,379

  • Description: Employees of state, county and municipal governments

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

Close up of a group of workers working in a warehouse.
Close up of a group of workers working in a warehouse.

International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)

  • Total membership: 1,389,454

  • Description: Truck drivers, warehouse workers and other trades

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? No

Shot of a young teacher educating a group of elementary children.
Shot of a young teacher educating a group of elementary children.

American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

  • Total membership: 1,677,775

  • Description: Public school teachers, registered nurses (RNs), professional, technical and nonprofessional healthcare workers

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? Yes

bellhop, hotel bellhop
bellhop, hotel bellhop

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

  • Total membership: 1,918,192

  • Description: Hotel, restaurant and hospitality workers; RNs, professional, technical and nonprofessional healthcare workers; public employees

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? No

cafeteria-worker
cafeteria-worker

National Education Association of the United States (NEA)

  • Total membership: 3,002,516

  • Description: Public school employees including but not limited to teachers, education support professionals, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, guidance counselors, nurses, administrative assistants, secretaries, psychologists and librarians

  • Member of the AFL-CIO? No

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Methodology: GOBankingRates looked at 73 labor unions within the United States in order to determine the 30 most powerful unions in America. GOBankingRates ranked the unions in terms of total members which was found using the Office of Labor-Management Standards' (OLMS) union reports under Schedule 13 which tallies total union members. The union had to report the data to the OLMS in order to be considered for this list, thus some unions are not listed. Whether or not the union is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) was also provided as supplemental data. All data was collected and up to date as of Sept. 11, 2019.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Jeff Bezos Will Be Doing After Amazon and More Side Projects of Billionaires

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