U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

Data spans from 2000 to 2024

• Labor Force Statistics (CPS) - (BLS, 2015): 5 tables on union member demographics, earnings, industry data, and geography

• Select categories (union, non-union, and represented by unions) with tick boxes

• Population totals and proportions available, including for the total labor force

International Labor Organization (ILO)

Data go back to the 1970s for aggregate counts; 2009 for specific sectors

• ILOSTAT Industrial Relations Data (IRdata) - (ILO, n.d.): 6 RShiny apps with international data on trade unions from collective bargaining rates to worker participation in strikes

• Industry data rely on 4 UN classifications (ISIC 1-4) specific to different eras. Only aggregate counts are reliable for multi-decade analysis

U.S. Census Bureau

Uses a three-year average (2021-2023)

• Poverty in the US - 2023 (Shrider, 2024): Multiple downloadable tables on poverty by demographic, geography, and different measures

• Visualizations will use Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) and Official Poverty Rate (Difference Explained by Fox & Burns, 2021)

Union Density by Industry: 2000-2024

Preliminary Recruitment Priorities

1. Retail and Food Service industries are the most prone to wage theft - $6.3M and $35.1M recovered in 2024, respectively (Department of Labor, n.d.)

2. Health Care and Education have accounted for 26.2% of job growth since February 2020 (Baker and Richwine, 2024), yet low union membership threatens precarious employment

3. Telecommunications, Transportation, Utilities, and Construction have seen the greatest union membership losses (14.8%, 9.9%, 8.5%, and 7.2%, respectively)

Union Member Wages by Occupation: 2004, 2014 & 2024

Connections to Industry

• Clerical hospital staff have consistently been one of the lowest paid union employees in the last two decades

  • Nonetheless, unionized medical practitioners might have seen a decline in earnings (Professional & Related job category)

• Restaurant workers, especially in fast food chains, are still at the bottom of the pay scale even with union membership

• Since union members usually earn more than non-union workers, this chart demands the recruitment of Food Service and Health Care workers

Top 10 Striking Industries of 2009-2023 (Totals)

A Synthesis on Industry Strikes and Wages (Part I)

• Although unionized teaching professionals have modest earnings, massive state and federal budget cuts have contributed to union busting and strikes

  • In 2015, 29 states provided less funding per student than they were in 2008 (Leachman et al., 2017)

  • Federal COVID education aid ended in September 2024, leaving 250,000 education jobs at risk (Morabito, 2025)

A Synthesis on Industry Strikes and Wages (Part II)

• Extensive job growth in health care is not enough to offset deteriorating patient and provider conditions

  • A national shortage of physicians (in the tens, if not hundreds of thousands) is imminent by 2033 (Murthy, 2022)

  • Burnout among and harassment towards front line medical staff have drastically increased, leading to many wanting to exit the profession (CDC, 2023)

Recommendation I

• Revised industry and occupation tier list for union campaigns

  • 1st: Health Care and Education –> clerical and medical staff; teachers, TAs, and RAs

  • 2nd: Food Service and Retail –> typical store or restaurant workers at major chains (e.g. Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks)

  • 3rd: Telecommunications, Transportation, and Utilities –> field workers (e.g. radio technicians, public transit drivers and mechanics, and line workers)

Recommendation II

• Political attacks on health care and education must drive unions to lobby, protest, and pressure state and federal lawmakers to enact reforms

Shiny Dashboard Demo

Click here to launch the live Shiny app

Takeaways from State Data (Part I)

• Three approaches to recruitment:

  • Needs-based - Tackle high poverty right-to-work states first (most difficult)

  • Pioneer - Organize in union dues states with <10% union density and right-to-work states with <10% poverty rate (moderate difficulty)

  • Reconstruction - Campaign in former union dues strongholds like the Great Lakes and New England (least difficult, but hardly changes political or economic landscape)

Takeaways from State Data (Part II)

• See which of the three industry and occupation tiers are dominant in the states described in each approach

Eliminating Wage Inequality by Gender and Age

• Recruiting non-union women aged 35-64 years is crucial

• Negotiating new union contracts must have an equal pay clause for men and women

• Union women working in the same industry and/or occupation as their non-union counterparts should lead the recruitment efforts

Reflections on Full and Part-Time Employment

• 9 out of 10 recruits should be full-time workers

• Part-time workers who join unions should report if wage theft is prevalent at their workplace

  • 24% of part-time employees experience wage theft (Poydock & Zhang, 2024)

• Both workers need stronger employment contracts (severance pay, just-cause dismissals, paid maternal/paternal leave with job protection, etc.)

Recommendation III

• Stronger employment contracts should be made in states with high poverty and/or low union densities (also dependent on strength of existing labor law)

  • Just-cause dismissals and paid paternal/maternal leave with job protection should be prioritized over other demands

Recommendation IV

• Again, employers are one piece of the puzzle; lobbying, protesting, and pressuring state and federal politicians is needed

  • Overturning right-to-work legislation, enshrining workplace protections, and holding firms accountable for discriminatory compensation

Building on Data Gaps

1. If more time was available for data collection, there could have been charts comparing the prevalence of workplace injuries/fatalities in heavily unionized industries versus less unionized industries.

2. A correlogram showing how collective bargaining rates, working days lost to strikes, and other industrial relations data affect macroeconomic indicators and vice versa would have been useful

3. Small multiple cartograms illustrating the proportion of people employed in particular industries across the country would have aided organizing efforts

Works Cited

Baker, D., & Richwine, A. (2024, April 25). Understanding Job Growth Since the Pandemic: Which Sectors are Leading the Way? Center for Economic and Policy Research. https://cepr.net/publications/understanding-job-growth-since-the-pandemic-which-sectors-are-leading-the-way/

Centers for Disease Control. (2023, October 24). Health Workers Face a Mental Health Crisis: Workers Report Harassment, Burnout, and Poor Mental Health; Supportive Workplaces Can Help. https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/health-worker-mental-health/index.html#print

Works Cited (cont. i)

Fox, L. E., & Burns, K. (2021, September 9). What’s the Difference Between the Supplemental and Official Poverty Measures? U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/09/difference-between-supplemental-and-official-poverty-measures.html

International Labor Organization. (n.d.). Industrial Relations Data (IRdata): Indicator Catalogue. https://ilostat.ilo.org/methods/concepts-and-definitions/description-industrial-relations-data/#elementor-toc__heading-anchor-6

Works Cited (cont. ii)

Leachman, M., Masterson, K., & Figueroa, E. (2017, November 29). A Punishing Decade for School Funding. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/a-punishing-decade-for-school-funding

Morabito, C. (2025, April 22). U.S. public schools brace for ‘fiscal cliff’ after surge in hiring meets budget shortfalls. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/22/enrollment-decline-hits-school-funding-triggers-cuts.html

Works Cited (cont. iii)

Murthy, V. H. (2022). Addressing Health Worker Burnout: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Thriving Health Workforce. U.S. Department of Health of Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/health-worker-wellbeing-advisory.pdf

Poydock, M., & Zhang, J. (2024, December 20). More than $1.5 billion in stolen wages recovered for workers between 2021 and 2023. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/wage-theft-2021-23/

Works Cited (cont. iv)

Shrider, E. (2024, September). Poverty in the United States: 2023. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2024/demo/income-poverty/p60-283.html

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2015, September 16). Tables 1.-5. https://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpslutab1.htm

U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). Impact in Fiscal Year 2024. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/data