Post by libby on Jan 29, 2016 0:08:38 GMT -6
Union membership in Wisconsin plummeted in 2015, falling far below the national average for the first time since Gov. Scott Walker and a Republican-controlled Legislature passed measures that all but eliminated collective bargaining for public workers.
In 2015, the percentage of public and private workers in unions was 8.3 percent, or 223,000 union members — down from 11.7 percent the year before, or 306,000 union members, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The drop in union membership came as Republican lawmakers were adopting so-called right-to-work legislation, which prohibits a company and a union from signing a contract that requires workers to pay dues.
According to Thursday’s report, 11.1 percent of wage and salary workers nationwide — about 14.8 million workers — were members of unions in 2015. The numbers were little changed from 2014.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/union-membership-in-wisconsin-tumbles-below-national-average/article_2818950d-c58e-5ec3-a64b-bf13a03181c3.html
In 2015, the percentage of public and private workers in unions was 8.3 percent, or 223,000 union members — down from 11.7 percent the year before, or 306,000 union members, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The drop in union membership came as Republican lawmakers were adopting so-called right-to-work legislation, which prohibits a company and a union from signing a contract that requires workers to pay dues.
According to Thursday’s report, 11.1 percent of wage and salary workers nationwide — about 14.8 million workers — were members of unions in 2015. The numbers were little changed from 2014.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/union-membership-in-wisconsin-tumbles-below-national-average/article_2818950d-c58e-5ec3-a64b-bf13a03181c3.html