Labor Unions
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 12,200 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.
Industry size & Structure
The average labor union operates out of a single location, employs 8-9 workers, and generates about $1 million annually.
- The labor union industry consists of about 12,200 organizations that employ about 109,000 workers and generate about $16 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
Labor Unions Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jul 14, 2024 - Labor Costs Increase
- Labor union industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first five months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor union industry revenue is forecast to grow at a 3.2% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, slower 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.
- Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a new law that can claw back state incentives from companies that voluntarily recognize labor unions. The move follows similar ones in Georgia and Tennessee. The laws require that unions be formed only by secret ballots rather than the so-called card check process, in which employers can voluntarily recognize a union without an election process. “We’re seeing a snowball effect,” said Vincent Vernuccio, a senior fellow at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a think tank that worked with Tennessee Republican lawmakers on their legislation. “It is getting noticed and I fully expect it to spread.”
- Labor unions are increasing efforts to reach and retain immigrants who may bolster a US workforce that would otherwise be set to decrease as the baby boomer generation retires, according to Reuters news service. Techniques include partnering bilingual workers with new hires and distributing flyers about apprenticeship programs in Spanish and other languages, said Dorsey Hager, a union official who sits on the Columbus/Central Ohio Building & Construction Trades Council. The increase in the number of available workers from 2021 to 2023 was the fastest two-year jump this century, with roughly half the growth coming from people born elsewhere, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The US labor union membership rate-- the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of unions -- decreased in 2022, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The union membership rate decreased from 10.3% in 2021 to 10.1% in 2022. The number of workers represented by unions increased by 200,000, but this was offset by a 5.3% increase in the total number of workers in the US workforce. While about 10% of US workers belong to a union, 68% of Americans approve of unions, according to Gallup polling results. That's a level of support not seen since 1965. The increase in positive perception may have boosted unionization efforts. There were 1,249 union elections in fiscal year 2022 (Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022), a nearly 50% increase from the year before, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers voted in favor of unionizing in 72% of those elections, up from 61% in 2021.
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