The union membership rate or union density refers to the number of people who are members of trade unions in a country or population. This is lower than the collective agreement coverage rate, which refers to all people in work places where terms are collective agreed. Trade unions collectively bargain with employers for improved pay, conditions and voice at work by increasing the bargaining power that employees have together, over what individuals have in negotiations with employing entities. The number of people who are covered by collective agreements is higher than the number of union membership rate (or the "union density" rate), and in many cases substantially higher, because when trade unions make collective agreements they aim to cover everyone at work, even those who have not necessarily joined for membership.
Contents
Causes
The causes of higher or lower union membership are widely debated. Common causes are often identified as including the following:
By country
In the United States in 2015 there were 14.8m union members, and 16.4m people covered by collective bargaining or union representation. Union membership was 7.4% in private sector, but 39% in the public sector. In the five largest states, California has 15.9% union membership, Texas 4.5%, Florida 6.8%, New York 24.7% (the highest in the country), and Illinois had 15.2%.
In Sweden union density was 69% in 2015 and 2016. In all the Nordic countries with a Ghent system—Sweden, Denmark and Finland—union density is almost 70%. In all these countries union density has declined.