Union membership remains near record low despite big boost in taxpayer-supported jobs

Mailee Smith

Senior Director of Labor Policy and Staff Attorney

Mailee Smith
January 29, 2025

Union membership remains near record low despite big boost in taxpayer-supported jobs

Rapid growth in government jobs during 2024 did little to fix the downward trajectory of union membership in Illinois. Just 13.1% of workers are union members in the state.

Union membership in Illinois was at a near-record low in Illinois in 2024, with a slight uptick from the record low in 2023 likely caused by an increase in government jobs supported by taxpayers. Government jobs grew in 2024 as private-sector jobs were dropping in Illinois.

Overall union membership in the state rose by 26,000 workers in 2024, according to a Jan. 28 release by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But it followed losses of 27,000 in 2023 and 17,000 in 2022.

Despite the gain in raw numbers, union membership continues an overall downward trend in Illinois, which saw union membership at 20.8% in 1989 compared to just 13.1% in 2024.

In other words, the unionization rate in 2024 is slightly higher than the record low set in 2023 but matches the state’s previous low in 2022.

The slight rise is because of the increase in government jobs in Illinois, as reflected in the bureau’s 2024 state employment report. In 2024, Illinois gained 15,600 state government jobs and 16,000 local government jobs, while simultaneously losing 16,200 jobs in professional and business services.

More than 32% of public-sector workers are unionized nationwide, compared to just 2% in professional and business services, according to the bureau’s release. So unionization apparently ticked up slightly in Illinois in 2024 because of the increase in state and local government jobs.

Nationwide, there was little change in union membership numbers between 2023 and 2024, with about 9.9% of workers belonging to unions.

While the federal unionization data combines membership in both public and private sector unions, the overall decline in Illinois has been playing out markedly among the state’s government unions in recent years.

Among the government unions hardest hit is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, which has seen a 21% drop in membership since its peak in 2004, according to its federal filings.

But AFSCME’s membership situation might be worse than it appears in its latest federal filing, which states it has 55,771 members. The union claims to represent more than 90,000 state and local government employees in Illinois. That means at least 34,229 workers AFSCME Council 31 claims to represent – or 38% – have chosen not to be members.

Similarly, the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois-Indiana claims on its website to represent 90,000 health care, child care, nursing home and home health care workers across four states, including Illinois. Its most recent federal filing showed it has just over 62,000 members. That means at least 28,000 workers represented by the union – nearly one-third – have rejected union membership.

Then there’s the Illinois Federation of Teachers – the state affiliate of the Chicago Teachers Union – which is also losing members.  At its peak in 2016, the union’s federal filing showed it had 96,029 members. As of 2023, it was down to 86,788 – a 9.9% drop.

The labor data just released confirms the trend: workers aren’t happy with union representation.

State and local government employees interested in joining the thousands of other Illinois public employees who have opted out of their unions can learn more at LeaveMyUnion.com.

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