Labor Unions NAICS 813930
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Industry Summary
The 12,000 labor unions in the US promote the interests of organized labor and union employees through collective bargaining. They rely on membership dues and investment income for revenue. Local chapters typically remit a percentage of dues to national organizations. Unions typically set aside a percentage of dues to support various funds. Most unions have a general fund to cover basic operating expenses. A strike fund assists members in the event of a strike. Other types of funds include communications, education, scholarship, and emergency operations.
Highly Regulated Operations
Labor unions are heavily regulated by numerous government organizations, including the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Resistance From Employers
Foreign competition and the ensuing pressure to reduce labor costs have strained relations between employers and unions.
Recent Developments
May 5, 2026 - Building Trades Unions Back Tech Giants In Push For AI Data Centers
- Building trades unions have become a part of the effort to counter increasing opposition to data center construction, according to the Associated Press. Unionized workers are employed on a huge number of massive data center projects and are scrambling to recruit new apprentices to feed increasing labor demand, according to the AP. Unions have aggressively answered complaints about data centers in ways that executives at tech giants and the development firms rarely do, bluntly confronting concerns about energy and water shortages, rising electric and water bills, or noise and quality-of-life objections, the AP reports. The North America’s Building Trades Unions said it hit a record number of members and apprentices in 2025. Organization president Sean McGarvey compared it to the build trades’ expansion in the 1950s. He attributes today’s growth to data centers, power plants, and legislation under former President Joe Biden that subsidized the construction of semiconductor and electric vehicle battery factories, energy efficiency projects, and grid transmission improvements.
- Legislation introduced in the US Congress which would restore collective bargaining rights that President Trump stripped from about 1 million federal workers in 2025 has advanced from the House of Representatives to the Senate. The Protect America’s Workforce Act aims to nullify two of President Donald Trump’s executive orders that called for most agencies to end their union contracts. President Trump cited national security as the reason to strip many federal workers of their collective bargaining rights. Federal employees' unions have been fighting the Trump executive orders in court, but after a district court paused the orders from taking effect, an appellate court overturned that union win.
- Nearly 200 large union contracts covering more than 1.5 million workers across many industries expired in 2025, according to Bloomberg Law. An early test for unions and for the incoming Trump administration was avoided when the union representing 45,000 longshoremen at docks along the US East and Gulf coasts and port operators tentatively agreed to a new six-year contract in early January 2025. Other workers may be emboldened to strike based on the record-breaking wages and benefits secured in contracts from the last few years, such as with Detroit’s Big Three, the Boeing Company, and Hollywood production studios, according to Bloomberg Law. Workers may also push for new job protections from emerging technology like artificial intelligence.
- Labor union industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first two months of 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor union industry revenue is forecast to grow at a 6.42% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Labor unions generate revenue by charging dues to members.
Industry Revenue
Labor Unions
Industry Structure
Industry size & Structure
The average labor union operates out of a single location, employs 9 workers, and generates about $1.8 million annually.
- The labor union industry consists of about 12,000 organizations that employ about 107,200 workers and generate about $21.3 billion annually.
- The industry is concentrated; the ten largest unions account for over 90% of total union membership. The industry includes national and local chapters of unions.
- Large unions include the National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).
Industry Forecast
Industry Forecast
Labor Unions Industry Growth
Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum
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