This is How Strong Labor Unions Are in Kentucky

Labor unions — an organized group of workers in a given trade — have changed the nature of labor relations in the United States. Through collective bargaining, unions have fought to earn many workers’ rights that many of us take for granted, including weekends off, a 40-hour work week, and paid vacations.

As the global economy has become increasingly interconnected, however, foreign competition has resulted in weakening union power in much of the country. Traditional union demands for better working conditions, benefits, and pay have made it more difficult for American companies to compete in an international market, where labor is cheap. This has been especially true for the manufacturing sector — American automakers in particular. Here are five countries manufacturing more cars than America.

With plants closing amid global competition and companies demanding more leeway, the share of U.S. workers who were union members has been on the decline since the 1980s. Union membership rate nationwide declined by 1.1 percentage points in the last decade, from 11.9% in 2010 to 10.8% in 2020.

Union participation is anything but uniform across all states, and in some parts of the country membership remains at levels not seen nationally since the 1980s. Using state-level data on the share of workforces that belong to a labor union, 24/7 Wall St. identified the states with the strongest and weakest unions.

Generally, the states with where labor union participation is weakest, are those that have strong anti-union laws. Perhaps the most common and effective anti-union measures are so-called “right-to-work” laws, which prohibit companies from requiring employees to join a union or pay dues. The term “right-to-work” itself is misleading, as in no way do these laws guarantee employment for those seeking it. Instead, they erode the strength of unions, diminishing their collective bargaining power.

Kentucky is the most recent state to enact so-called right-to-work laws, joining 26 other states in 2017 — and those laws appear to be having a meaningful impact on organized labor. As recently as 2016, the share of workers in a labor union in Kentucky was 11.1%. As of 2020, unionized workers comprised only 7.5% of the workforce.

In 2018, the Kentucky American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations challenged the state’s right-to-work laws. However, the challenge was denied in a 4-3 decision in the state Supreme Court.

Union membership statistics are from UnionStats, a database powered by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. Additional data on historical union membership and union membership by sector also came from UnionStats. Supplemental data on annual median wage came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics program and is for 2019.

Rank Geography: Workers in a labor union: 10-yr. change in union membership (ppt.): Avg. annual wage:
  United States 10.8% -1.1 $53,490
1 Hawaii 23.6% 1.9 $54,930
2 New York 22.0% -2.2 $63,970
3 Rhode Island 17.8% 1.4 $57,220
4 Alaska 17.6% -5.3 $59,290
5 Washington 17.4% -2.1 $62,020
6 Connecticut 17.1% 0.4 $62,350
7 Oregon 16.2% 0.0 $53,890
8 California 16.2% -1.3 $61,290
9 New Jersey 16.1% -1.0 $59,980
10 Minnesota 15.8% 0.2 $55,890
11 Michigan 15.2% -1.3 $50,780
12 Maine 14.6% 3.0 $48,470
13 Illinois 14.2% -1.3 $55,130
14 Pennsylvania 13.5% -1.2 $51,340
15 Nevada 13.4% -1.6 $47,210
16 Ohio 13.2% -0.5 $49,430
17 Maryland 13.1% 1.5 $60,230
18 Montana 12.0% -0.7 $45,370
19 Massachusetts 12.0% -2.5 $65,680
20 Vermont 11.8% 0.0 $51,120
21 West Virginia 10.6% -4.1 $43,420
22 Delaware 9.9% -1.5 $54,370
23 New Hampshire 9.8% -0.4 $53,950
24 Nebraska 9.6% 0.3 $48,250
25 Missouri 9.4% -0.5 $47,820
26 Kansas 8.8% 2.0 $46,520
27 Wisconsin 8.7% -5.4 $48,850
28 Indiana 8.2% -2.7 $46,770
29 Alabama 8.0% -2.2 $44,930
30 Wyoming 7.6% 0.2 $49,760
31 Kentucky 7.5% -1.5 $44,020
32 Colorado 7.4% 0.8 $57,690
33 Mississippi 7.2% 2.7 $40,090
34 New Mexico 7.2% -0.2 $47,040
35 Iowa 6.6% -4.8 $47,330
36 Florida 6.4% 0.9 $47,750
37 North Dakota 6.2% -1.1 $50,430
38 Oklahoma 6.0% 0.5 $45,620
39 Louisiana 5.9% 1.5 $44,170
40 Idaho 5.6% -1.5 $44,890
41 Arizona 5.3% -1.1 $50,930
42 Texas 4.9% -0.6 $50,490
43 Arkansas 4.7% 0.7 $42,690
44 Georgia 4.7% 0.6 $49,620
45 Virginia 4.4% -0.2 $56,740
46 Tennessee 4.3% -0.3 $45,650
47 South Dakota 4.3% -1.3 $42,920
48 Utah 3.6% -2.9 $49,420
49 North Carolina 3.1% 0.0 $48,550
50 South Carolina 2.9% -1.7 $44,380