Michigan Union Membership Sees Increase Over 2024

Every year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases union membership data detailing union participation rates and union membership demographics nationwide, as well as comparing data year-to-year. In 2024, there was a national reduction of 169,000 union members overall, while the union participation rate saw little change at 9.9 percent.

This BLS release also has high-level state data on union membership. The state with the greatest increase in members in 2024 was Massachusetts, adding 84,000 members. Two states had notable decreases in union members since last year; California lost 133,000 members while Pennsylvania's union membership declined by 83,000.

In 2024, Michigan ranked eighth across the U.S. in terms of total union members, with 581,000. This increase of 17,000 people from 2023 allowed Michigan to move up the rankings one spot from last year, surpassing Washington. California (2.38 million) and New York (1.7 million) continue to hold the top rankings by a margin of almost 1 million members separating them from the third-ranked state, Illinois (734,000). South Dakota has the fewest union members, with 12,000.

Michigan’s union members accounted for 13.4 percent of the state’s total employment in 2024, well above the national rate of 9.9 percent. This put Michigan at the 13th highest union membership rate among states. Hawaii retained the top spot with 26.5 percent of employed workers belonging to a union while New York once again sat at second on the list at 20.6 percent, both more than doubling the national average.

Over the year, Michigan increased union members (+17,000) and union participation rate (+0.6 percentage points). These increases have helped Michigan bounce back from the notable low union participation levels of 2023, however, union membership is still below pre-pandemic levels.

Michigan’s number of union members ranks in the top ten among states in 2024.

For more information on union membership in 2024, read the full press release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.