California Bucks Downward Trend on Unionization

[Omaha Steve]

By Aaron Glantz|January 26, 2011 8:16 a.m. |In Labor


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Hotel workers picket last fall at the Palace


The percentage of workers represented by labor unions continued to fall nationally, but it actually climbed last year in California, according to a new report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to the report, 18.6 percent of California workers had union representation in 2010, up from 18.3 percent the year before.

New York had the highest unionization rate at 26 percent.

Nationally, the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of labor unions was 11.9 percent, down from 12.3 percent a year earlier.

California has 2.4 million union members, the report said.