Union Numbers Down Slightly

Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the percentage of Michigan’s union membership declined slightly in 2013, the first year that the state’s new right-to-work laws were in effect. But the numbers of people who were union members in Michigan in 2013 actually increased slightly, by some 4,000 people. However, the federal figures showed the percentage declined in part because the number of people employed by the state increased by more than 100,000. 16.3 percent of all Michigan workers were union members in 2013 compared to 16.6 percent in 2012.