Report: R.I. still a top state for unions, but down from last year

ORGANIZERS show their support for Starbucks Corp. employees at a Warwick store off Route 2, one of various national Starbucks locations where employees are trying to unionize.
 / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS


PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island remains a top 10 state for union strength, according to a report by SmartAsset, but dropped six spots from last year, from second to eighth in the nation.

SmartAsset attributes Rhode Island’s lowered ranking primarily to the total percentage of union membership falling from 17.70% of the state’s workforce to 15.76%. Over the past four years, union membership rates in Rhode Island have decreased by 4.4%.

But the Ocean State remains above the national average for union membership rates, which is around 10%. The decline in union membership also follows a national trend, with the number of unionized workers in the U.S. declining by 241,000 between 2020 and 2021.

Falling wages also contributed to Rhode Island’s ranking, though this lowering occurred among both union and nonunion workers, the report specifies.

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Nationwide, the report found that states with higher union membership have higher wages, with nonunion workers making around 83% of unionized workers’ earnings, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Rhode Island has the 11th highest annual wage for workers overall, at $62,120, and the 11th and 10th highest wages, respectively, for middle school teachers and high school years — two highly unionized professions — at $73,210 and $62,860.

Massachusetts ranked at number six, with nearly 13% of its workforce in a union. SmartAsset also ranked Massachusetts first for wages across all occupations, at $72,940, and third for middle school teacher pay, at $85,740.

Massachusetts also had a slight increase in union membership rates over the past four years, at .22%.

Connecticut ranked 12th, with a 14.59% union membership rate, but a 20.34% decrease in membership over four years.

Washington, Oregon, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania took the top five spots for union strength.

Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.

 

 

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