Some decent news for unions

We’ll see whether this is a longer-term trend. But things could be a lot worse, and would be if the greedheads totally had their way.

In 2025, 16.5 million workers in the United States were represented by a union—an increase of 463,000 from 2024 and the highest number of unionized workers in the U.S. in 16 years. These 16.5 million unionized workers account for 11.2% of all wage and salary workers, up from 11.1% in 2024. The increase is a departure from prior years’ downward trend in union density. It demonstrates working people’s desire for greater agency in their workplaces and in shaping the policies that affect their lives. In a time of fear, uncertainty, and hardship, the importance and benefits of unionization are especially clear. Further, this increase occurred despite the nation’s broken system of labor law and the most anti-union president in history. It is a testament to working people’s resolve and the fact that unions are increasingly viewed favorably and recognized as critical instruments for building a just economy…

The share of nonunion workers who would like to have a union at their workplace far exceeds the share who are actually unionized. In 2025, 11.2% of workers were covered by a union contract. Recent survey data show that 43% of nonunion workers would vote to unionize their workplace if given the opportunity. That is up substantially from previous decades; surveys in 1977 and 1994 found that fewer than one-third (27% and 31%, respectively) of nonunion workers said they would vote to unionize if they could. There were 130.2 million wage and salary workers in 2025 who were not represented by a union; 43% of that is 56 million. In other words, more than 50 million workers in 2025 wanted union representation but were unable to get it. - EPI