Seems unions are suffering based on labor figures by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The overall unionization rate in the US was 12.1 percent, down from 12.4 percent the previous year.
The private sector, for the first time ever, employed fewer union members than the public sector. The number of union workers employed in the private sector fell from approximately 7.91 million in 2008 to 7.19 million in 2009, while the number of public-sector union workers dropped from 7.86 million to 7.76 million.
In California, the highest unionized state, unionization rates were down across a range of groupings, with the most significant losses in:
* Transportation and utilities fell from 41.7 percent to 36.4 percent
* Public administration fell from 58.1 percent to 52.1 percent