The number of American workers who belong to a union fell yet again last year, as both government workers and those in private industry saw their ranks shrink.

About 11.3 percent of the workforce, or 14.4 million workers, belonged to a union in 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. That’s down from 11.8 percent of the workforce, or 14.8 million workers, in 2011.

The American union labor movement has struggled for years with declining membership and increasing attacks from those who oppose organized labor. In December, Michigan – once considered a stronghold of American union power - became the 24th state to approve right-to-work legislation. That type of legislation makes it harder for unions to maintain power because union-covered members are no longer required to pay dues.

Many experts say the move in Michigan could embolden more states to pass similar legislation, further threatening the nation’s once-strong labor union movement.

The data released Wednesday also reinforced the changing face of the American labor movement. While most Americans think of union members as manufacturing workers wearing hard hats, these days union membership is actually more common among public-sector workers such as teachers, firefighters and police officers.

Still, both sectors saw their union membership ranks shrink last year.

About 7.3 million public-sector workers belonged to a union in 2012, the BLS reported, down from about 7.6 million in 2011.

About 7.0 million private-sector workers belonged to a union in 2011, down from 7.2 million a year earlier.

Related:

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Michigan's right-to-work laws will ripple across U.S.

CEPR

The downhill slide in U.S. union membership has stalled. 

After steep declines since 2008, the unionization rate leveled off last year, pointing to what is either a number that just can’t go any lower, a lull in yet more union membership hemorrhaging, or the beginning of a labor turnaround. 

Union membership plummeted by nearly 1.4 million workers between 2008 and 2010, but “hit a plateau in 2011,” according to the Center for Economic Policy Research, an economic think tank that reviewed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The private sector led the way with a union membership increase of 110,000 employees, while the public sector saw a 61,000 decline, mainly due to government cutbacks. 

The data shows a stabilization following years of unionization declines, but could it be the early signs of a union renaissance? 

“No, not yet,” surmised John Budd, a professor of work and organizations at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and director of the Center for Human Resources and Labor Studies. 

“We’ve reached a core group that doesn’t have much left to shrink,” he said, about traditional unionized workers in industries such as auto, airlines, and healthcare. On the other hand, he added, it could be a sign “people are turning to unionization again.” 

The growing perception among many that economic inequities are rampant could fuel a rethinking of the role unions can play, he maintained. “That’s something that unions fight for, equality and economic fairness,” he said. “In terms of workers getting frustrated and unions turning the corner as a result, the signs of that potential have been around for a number of years now.” 

A positive sign, he noted, is that in a political environment that has vilified organized labor and has spawned movements to hamper organizing rights in states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin, membership numbers have stabilized. 

Others aren’t as hopeful. 

Gary Chaison, professor of Industrial Relations at Clark University’s Graduate School of Management, believes the worst is yet to come. “There will be greater layoffs in the public sector as cities and states have to lay off workers to narrow the budget shortfalls caused by excessive pension obligations,” he said. “And as the economy stalls, perhaps the result of continuing high employment and low consumer confidence, or the banking crisis in Europe, employers in manufacturing will be reluctant to add to their workforces.” 

Here are some details of the CEPR report: 

• The largest net increases in unionization came from health care and social assistance; construction; and durable goods manufacturing. 
• The biggest declines came from professional and business services; utilities; and non-durable manufactured goods. 
• Florida saw the biggest gains in union members in 2011; followed by Michigan Colorado, Illinois and Missouri. 
• New York, the most heavily unionized state, saw the sharpest drop, followed by California.

Overall, women represented the biggest increase in union membership with an increase of 36,000 female members, compared to about 12,000 men. 

“I don't think that men or woman have a greater natural propensity to join unions, but it's all about industry,” Chaison said. “Apparently there have been fewer job losses or health care occupations or service occupations -- hotels and restaurants -- dominated by women.”

Employee Benefit Research Institute

There are benefits to being in a union, literally.

Unionized workers are more likely to have health insurance coverage through their employer than their non-union peers. What’s more, they were less likely to lose their employer-based health insurance coverage during the recession than workers who aren’t in a union, according to a new study.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute crunched numbers from the U.S. Census data. They found that in 2009, 80.4 percent of unionized workers had health insurance through their job. That was a slight drop from 2007, when 82 percent of union workers had coverage through their employer.

By contrast, 52.2 percent of non-union workers had health insurance coverage through their job in 2009. That’s a steeper drop from 2007, when 55.9 percent of those workers were getting health insurance through an employer.

The numbers are even starker if you include people who were covered as a dependent on other health care plans. Then, 91 percent of union workers had health care coverage through an employer, while 70.6 percent of non-union workers had an employer-based health plan.

The No. 1 reason workers said they were uninsured was because they couldn’t afford the health care plan and had therefore declined it, according to the report. The second most common reason was that their employer didn’t offer a plan.

It’s not necessarily surprising that unionized workers would be more likely to have health insurance, since that’s the kind of benefit unions are likely to push for.  But unionized workers make up just a small part of the overall work force.

There were 14.7 million unionized workers in the United States in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Union members made up 11.9 percent of the workforce in 2010, compared to 13.4 percent of the workforce a decade ago.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Number of union members, in thousands

The effort by the Wisconsin legislature to curb union power comes at a time when overall union membership has taken a sharp hit, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2010, the BLS said union membership fell by 617,000, to 14.7 million. A decade ago, 16.3 million people were in unions.

Union members now make up 11.9 percent of the workforce. A decade ago, that figure stood at 13.4 percent.

The BLS offers a couple of other interesting tidbits about union members.

• The occupations with the highest union membership rate included education, training and library jobs.
• Black workers are more likely to be in unions than white, Asian or Hispanic workers.
• New York is the state with the highest rate of union membership.

Related:

Public unions arrive at a critical moment

Unions aren’t that popular, but neither are businesses