1 in 7 PA Workers Belongs to a Union

Union membership is shrinking in Pennsylvania and across the country. A report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that in 2010, the number of workers in Pennsylvania who belong to a union was 770,000 representing 14.7% of wage and salary employees. That's down from 15% in 2009.
The bureau's regional economist Kara Markley says the decline in Pennsylvania's union members hip rate is similar to the national rate which fell from12.3% in 2009 to 11.9% last year.
According to the bureau, in 1989, the first year for which state union data was available, the rate peaked at 20.9% in Pennsylvania and has been steadily dropping since. Markley says that half of the union members in the United States is concentrated in 6 states..."Those 6 states are California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey. However, the 6 states only accounted for one third of the wage and salary employment.
The state with the highest union percentage among workers is New York at 24.2% and North Carolina has the smallest rate...3.2%.

PA Workers Rally to Support Wisconsin Colleagues

Protesters turned out Saturday at state capitals, including Harrisburg, and other cities across the nation to support teachers and other public workers holding steady at the Wisconsin capitol in their fight against legislation aimed at stripping most of their collective bargaining rights. The protest in Madison is now 12 days old and it attracted more than 70,000 people Saturday, the largest crowd yet.
Hundreds of people including auto workers, teachers, electricians, postal workers and railroad workers gathered at Pennsylvania's state capital. They chanted and carried signs. Michael Morrill of the organizing group Keystone Progress said they wanted to "stand in solidarity with Wisconsin workers and American families everywhere." Morrill said they also hoped to deter Governor Tom Corbett from any such effort in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, several dozen people across the street sounded whistles and bullhorns in a counter protest.

Council Sends Support to Wisconsin

Pittsburgh City Council has taken up the cause of the mass of protesting union members in Wisconsin. Council passed a resolution this morning proclaiming today, “Service Workers Day” in Pittsburgh. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has proposed legislation that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers for any benefits other than base pay. It would also prevent state and local governments from automatically collecting union dues.

Resolution sponsor Natalia Rudiak says the governor is stripping the workers of their fundamental rights and in the process he is shattering the middle class. “It is a bridge too far, it is a reactionary agenda that will endanger the livelihoods of thousands of working Americans and it must be stopped before this type of thinking endangers the livelihood of millions,” says Rudiak. The resolution praises union workers in the city and recognizes their work in keeping the city and the region running.

“Workers rights are not a budget line item,” says Council Member Bruce Kraus, “you cannot just wipe away with the stroke of a pen decades and decades of work that has stabilized a middle class.” Kraus says the middle class is essential to the health and wellbeing of the nation.

In a news conference before Council’s meeting, Allegheny County Labor Council President Jack Shea jumped onto the same theme, saying this is not just an issue of concern to union members; it is an issue of concern for all workers. “Everybody knows when unions are able to bargain a fair and a decent contract and conditions of employment, it gets passed on to the non-union workforce,” says Shea.

Last week, Democrats in Wisconsin's state Senate walked out rather than vote on the bill. They fled to Illinois and other boarding states to keep from being forced back into the chamber. “We support your heroic effort to protect the futures of so many working families,” says Rudiak, “we know that you cannot go home so if you need a gathering place in your struggle to protect workers rights you are welcome to come to Pittsburgh.”