The Decline of Labor Unions

After decades of growth, union membership in the United States has been declining steadily for the past 20 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total membership peaked at almost 18 million people in 1980. By last year, according to The Charlotte News & Observer, that figure had dropped to less than 16 million, just 13 percent of the country’s workforce.

It’s happening everywhere. In Minnesota, the most heavily unionized state in the Upper Midwest, membership declined by 17.6 percent between 2002 and 20.....