“DITTO …”
|| By FITSNEWS || U.S. president Barack Obama stopped the union bleeding in 2013, but he hasn’t been able to spark sustained increases in union membership – at least not according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
The total number of unionized workers in America stood at 14.6 million in 2014 – up modestly from 14.5 million a year ago. Of course the percentage of salaried workers belonging to a union declined from 11.3 to 11.1 percent. Meanwhile the percentage of public sector workers belonging to a union stood at a whopping 35.7 percent – up from 35.3 percent a year ago.
The private sector percentage? It slipped from 6.7 to 6.6 percent.
In 1983 – the first year the government began tracking unionization – more than 20 percent of the nation’s workforce (17.7 million people) belonged to a union.
South Carolina’s unionization rate? It stood at 2.2 percent in 2014 (down from 3.7 percent in 2013). That’s one of the lowest rates in America.
To watch the unionization rates for all fifty states evolve over time, check out this nifty interactive map from NPR …
(Click to play)
(Map: Via)
South Carolina shouldn’t get too comfortable, though …
Unions are plotting big moves in the Palmetto State – specifically a major push by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) to unionize the heavily taxpayer-subsidized Boeing aircraft manufacturing facility in North Charleston, S.C.
Assuming that effort is successful, South Carolina could find itself moving in the wrong direction on this front …
***
7 comments
I give fits credit for reporting this, but I posted comments about this in January. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a table last month.
South Carolina is the second lowest behind North Carolina.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.t05.htm
Of interest also is the sharp decline in union membership in Washington State, whose work force competes with South Carolina for Boeing jobs.
Now, if fits would report on the recovery of SC’s workforce from the mid 2014 slump.
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASST450000000000003
Recovery? Are you serious??? No real recovery, just manipulated numbers.
The nation has recovered about 25% from where we were in 2008. That’s not great for the fifth year of a recovery. South Carolina has been recovering since late 2011, except a small dip in 3rd quarter of 2014. Fits reported that dip in the worker participation rate, but he has not reported the recovery from that dip. SC has had great job growth but has had population growth also. So the percentage of adult population with jobs has only improved by 0.6%. But people are moving to SC at a higher rate than the average state. Also the last two months have had very good job growth.
Yeah, I would hate to see a rise in Unions in SC. Those higher wages and worker protections would really suck.
For the pure comedic value,I hope Boeing is unionized.
Just to hear Nikki Haley babbling on incoherently would be worth it.
Symbolically ,if that happened, the workers there would be giving her the proverbial Middle finger.
Yeah Nikki Haley doesn’t want the unions here. It might give the average worker a fair wage and she cant have her caste system abused.
God forbid employees should be treated fairly. Businesses in South Carolina trying hard to maintain the plantation economy…