The number of American workers represented by unions grew to 16.5 million in 2025, its highest point in 16 years. Still, the gap between the share of workers who say they want a union and the share of workers with one remained stubbornly high.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report on union members in the workforce last month. It showed modest growth for unions both nationwide and in Minnesota, where 15.8% of workers were represented by unions in 2025, an increase of 1%.
Nationally, the rate of union representation increased by one-tenth of a point, to 11.2%. The total number of workers represented by unions grew by 463,000.
Labor leaders said the data underscores how difficult it remains to organize unions under current labor law. They pointed to the tension between current union density and recent survey data showing near-record highs in unions’ approval ratings.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, the nation’s highest-ranking union officer, said the increase in unionization last year reflects years of sustained effort among workers to organize and win elections – a lengthy process that is met with hostility in most workplaces.
“Billionaire bosses and union-busting politicians have tried to throw the kitchen sink at working people and their unions – slashing our jobs and rigging the rules to scare us out of organizing – but they are failing,” Shuler said in a response to the report.
Shuler took aim at the Trump administration for modeling an anti-union approach since the start of its second term, with mass layoffs and executive orders that have attempted to strip federal workers of their collective bargaining agreements.
She also noted that the government shutdown put a pause on National Labor Relations Board elections, further delaying the organizing process for thousands of workers.
“Workers have felt President Trump’s billionaire-first agenda in action and are hungry to take back their power,” Shuler said. “Workers know that the best check on a bad boss is a strong union contract. In 2026, workers will continue to organize in every corner of the country and build power to fight for the lives they deserve.”
Notable takeaways from the BLS report include:
• Signs of growth in the South, after a sustained push to organize in so-called “right to work” states. Nearly half of all union growth last year came from Southern states, with younger workers organizing at a rapid pace, too.
• Public workers are looking to unions, especially at the federal level. Union density among federal workers grew to over 31% – the largest single-year increase since 2011. Overall, the number of public-sector workers represented by a union grew by 236,000, or 36.4% of that workforce.
• Private-sector workers made organizing gains in health care, retail, education services and construction. North America’s Building Trades Unions reported gaining 4 over 47,000 new members across 14 crafts last year, despite widespread industry disruption. NABTU President Sean McGarvey cited “sound public policy,” in part, for the unions’ growth.
“The prior administration and Congress prioritized real investments in infrastructure and energy…” McGarvey said. “While the current administration has announced future foreign investments in the U.S., none have yet produced a single work hour for our members.
“Instead, cancellations, delays, withdrawn permits, withheld funds and policy uncertainty have jeopardized these anticipated domestic investments.”
• The number of Minnesota workers represented by unions increased from 394,000 to 431,000 last year. The state ranked 10th-highest for share of the workforce with union representation.
• Union members continued to out-earn their non-union peers. The median weekly earnings for all workers last year was $1,204. Union members had median weekly earnings of $1,487; for non-union workers the median was $1,174.
– Michael Moore, UA editor
Union Advocate 
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