Indiana below average in union membership

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data last Friday indicating Indiana workers are slightly below the national average in union membership.

The United States had an 11.3 percent average of workers who were union members in 2013, a statistic that was unchanged from 2012.

Indiana reported a 9.3 percent union membership, which represented a slight increase from 9.1 percent in 2012.

These numbers do not represent U.S. or Indiana employees who do not report union affiliation, but whose jobs are still covered by a union.

Twenty-seven states reported higher union membership rates than Indiana.

North Carolina had the lowest rate for 2013 at 3 percent. New York had the highest rate at 24.4 percent.

Thomas E. Perez, U.S. secretary of labor, said in a statement union members had higher salaries and better benefits, such as health insurance and vacation leave, compared to non-unionized workers in 2013.

“Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members have higher median weekly earnings than nonunion workers,” Perez said in the release. “The median weekly earnings of union members were $950, compared to $750 for nonunion workers.”

— Mary Katherine Wildeman