At the end of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual report on union density, revealing that the percentage of workers in a union remained flat in 2024 despite significant organizing wins across various sectors of the economy.
**AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement in response to the report:**
_“It’s plain as day that more working people want a union now than at any point in our lifetimes. Across our economy and in every part of the country, workers are standing together to demand fair treatment, better wages, and dignity and respect on the job. Our organizing has resulted in remarkable victories in traditional and emerging sectors like manufacturing, health care, clean energy, infrastructure, retail and restaurants, hospitality, and on college campuses, in technology, in public service, and much more.”_
_[The] BLS numbers don’t begin to tell the real story of the desire workers have to join a union. The number of union elections has doubled since 2021, boosted by efforts from the Biden administration to give workers a fair shot at joining a union. In 2024 alone, there were nearly 1,800 union elections, with workers winning the vast majority. Many of these victories are not reflected in the numbers released today because employers are exploiting a broken system to delay bargaining a first contract. But these wins—including an election for the first-ever Whole Foods union in Philadelphia just last night (January 27) —are proof positive of working people’s incredible desire to join and form unions._
**Challenges Persist Amid Growing Momentum**
Public approval for unions is at a nearly 70-year high because in an economy that continues to heavily tilt to the wealthy few and leaves workers behind, the only way to get ahead is by joining together. The recent successful organizing campaigns at places like Starbucks, Amazon, Volkswagen, and other massive corporations show workers’ momentum and hunger to join unions, no matter how many hurdles bosses and anti-union politicians throw their way. There are 60 million workers who would join a union today if given the opportunity, but between broken labor law and corporate bosses like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos engaging in often illegal union-busting every year with little consequence, far too few get that chance.
“It’s time for change,” Shuler emphasized. “We call on the Trump administration to live up to its campaign promises to support workers by prioritizing fixing America’s broken labor law through the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act. These bills would finally update our archaic, broken laws and give workers what we so desperately want: a free and fair shot at joining a union on the job.”
**A Unified Labor Movement**
The AFL-CIO is now nearly 15 million members strong with the recent affiliation of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), marking the most unified labor movement seen in decades. Many unions are experiencing an all-time high in membership and continue to grow. This year, workers will continue to organize vigorously, flex their power through strikes and other workplace actions, and demand that corporate CEOs and politicians give them the respect they deserve.
