The Changing Face of Public Employee Unionism

• Author: Norma M. Riccucci
• Published date: 01 March 2007
• Date: 01 March 2007
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X06290967
• Subject Matter: Articles

71

Review of Public Personnel

Administration

Volume 27 Number 1

March 2007 71-78

© 2007 Sage Publications

10.1177/0734371X06290967

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Research Note

The Changing Face of

Public Employee Unionism

Norma M. Riccucci

Rutgers University, Newark

This article provides a brief picture of the various unions that currently represent state

and local government employees in the United States, including teachers and profes-

sors. It reviews the factors that have contributed to union decline in the private sector,

and those factors explaining union growth in the public sector. Its purpose is purely

descriptive, seeking to illustrate the ability of unions to seize opportunities to organize

public employees, thereby increasing their “strength in numbers.”

Keywords: union representation; union growth; union organizing; Change to Win

Coalition

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2004, public employees had a

union membership rate more than 4 times that of private sector employees. The rate

of unionization for all public employees was a little more than 40%, with local govern-

ment employees holding the highest membership rate, at 45.8%. The rate of unioniza-

tion in private industry has continued to drop, and at 8.6% in 2004, it was at an all-time

low (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005c).1As the capacity for unionization has

shifted from the private sector to the public sector during the past several decades, pri-

vate sector unions, experiencing severe losses in their membership bases, have targeted

public employees for unionization (Kearney & Carnevale, 2001). Today, an extraordi-

nary mix of traditionally private sector unions represents public employees.

The purpose of this article is to provide a descriptive account of the various unions

that currently represent state and local government employees and teachers and pro-

fessors in the United States. It begins with a brief examination of the various rea-

sons for the decline in private sector unionism. It also looks at the reasons for the rise

in the unionization of public employees. It then provides a snapshot of the current

union landscape across the nation. The purpose of this article is not to raise questions

about the ability of traditionally private sector unions to represent their new con-

stituencies but rather to illustrate the ability of unions to seize opportunities to orga-

nize public employees, thereby increasing their “strength in numbers.”

The Decline In Private Sector Unionization

By now, we are all too familiar with the various reasons for the precipitous decline

in the rate of private sector unionization. One of the primary reasons for the decline