Bucking National Trend, Texas Union Membership Shows Moderate Increase

Printer friendly version | Send this story to a friend The addition of 37,000 union members in Texas brings the union population here to 545,000. While the 5.4 percent join rate remains low, it rose from 5.1 percent a year ago. Texas is now ahead of eight other states in that category. If one includes all workers covered by a union contract, the number of such workers is now 677,000 in the Lone Star State. Nationally, union membership fell from 12.3 percent to 11.9 percent and stands at about 14.7 million workers. "These numbers suggest that even when the economy is not clicking and even when far too many Texans are suffering without jobs, more and more Texas workers are seeing the advantages of standing together for dignity in the workplace," Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller said. "Unions in Texas work against tough odds and often against an information vacuum. We believe more workers have joined and will join unions because they ultimately learns what is at stake and they gain the opportunity. We salute unions that overcome serious obstacles to organize successfully in this state." To see, state-by-state comparisons, go to the links.