Union membership continued to decline in Minnesota and nationally in 2019 even as employers added jobs, according to a year-end report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The number of workers in unions fell by 170,000 last year while U.S. businesses added 2.1 million jobs, putting union membership at 10.3% of the total labor force. It was the lowest share since 1983.
The decline was slight, about 0.2%, but reflects a decade of shrinking influence of organized labor in the workplace. A driving factor was declining job growth in private-sector industries with historically strong union representation, such as manufacturing, transportation and mining.
In Minnesota, union membership dropped by 31,000 to account for 13.7% of the workforce.
"Some people were holding their breath expecting a significant drop in public-sector membership, which did happen, but it wasn't a catastrophic decline," said John Budd, a labor relations and policy expert at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
The locals in Minnesota have also held several unionization votes and continue to be vocal.
On Friday, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota announced its 1,800 members at HealthPartners overwhelmingly approved a strike should bargaining on a new contract continue to stall.
Workplace actions across the country involved 485,000 employees in 2018, according to the Labor Department, the highest figure in 32 years.