Posts tagged Census Bureau
The share of Californians in unions holds steady as nationwide numbers continue decline
August 28, 2025 // The report, which analyzed data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that the percentage of Californians covered by a union has hovered between 16% and 18% in the last two decades. In 2024, the most recent year analyzed by researchers, the Golden State’s 2.67 million union-represented workers amounted to 16.3% of its labor force. Unions have only been able to sustain those numbers through consistent new organizing, said Enrique Lopezlira, director of the Low-Wage Work Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center and a co-author of the report.
Give women more choice at work this Equal Pay Day
March 26, 2025 // One action politicians can take to benefit women is to give them more choice in the workplace so that they are compensated in a way that is most valuable to them. For example, some Americans, including many mothers, would prefer additional paid time off rather than additional pay for extra work. Currently, the Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered nonexempt employees receive overtime pay for working overtime hours. Accumulating paid leave is not an option.
New Study: From Gig to Gone? ABC Tests and the Case of the Missing Workers
January 10, 2025 // The introduction of an ABC test caused significant declines in traditional (W-2) employment, self-employment, and overall employment. The ABC test reduced traditional (W-2) employment by 4.73% Self-employment fell by 6.43% Overall employment fell by 4.79% Occupations with high shares of independent contractors experienced the largest reductions in employment. These results suggest that contrary to the intended goal, ABC tests are not altering the composition of workers and leading to more workers becoming traditional W-2 employees, but they are reducing employment for both W-2 employees and self-employed workers.
Commentary: Biden Administration’s New Investments in Electric Vehicle and Battery Production Could Benefit Black Americans
February 2, 2024 // While some have suggested that transitioning to EVs would necessitate lower pay and standards for auto workers, the UAW’s gains to the contrary show how the Biden administration’s clean energy plan is actually increasing the leverage of U.S. autoworkers and helping them retain or regain a foothold in America’s middle class. These new investments and labor protections demonstrate significant progress for American workers and the auto industry relative to 2017 through 2020, which saw multiple U.S.-based auto plants close. What’s more, in U.S. history, 2023 marked the lowest annual unemployment rate for Black Americans. The strong labor market in Black communities makes it all the more crucial for automakers to invest in skills training, outreach, and their workforces in order to find and retain the requisite talent to fill the tens of thousands of new jobs created by these investments. If they do so, and efforts by the far-right to water down or repeal the Inflation Reduction Act are defeated, there is ample reason for optimism that ballooning investments in EV and battery production in Black communities will help sustain the strong labor market for Black Americans in the months and years ahead.
Commentary: How Much Longer Will Democrats Support the PRO Act?
June 29, 2023 // When the act was introduced in 2019 and 2021, I voted against it both times. Members should not be fooled by the so-called pro-worker rhetoric that has accompanied the PRO Act. You can be pro-worker without hitching your wagon to a poisonous bill that advances an ideological attack on small business owners. So next time your sink backs up or your chimney needs sweeping, think of the PRO Act and those who are pushing it.
Taxpayer-funded union dues: California’s toxic idea is spreading
May 30, 2023 // The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the share of wage and salary workers who belong to unions was 10.1% in 2022, down from 10.3% in 2021. In fact, the 2022 membership rate was the lowest on record; in 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, it was 20.1%. Former union members are voting with their feet to leave, forcing union leaders to scramble to entice workers to stay — on the taxpayer’s dime. SEE ALSO Union bosses are still making boatloads of money, even if their ranks are dwindling. Union bosses rake it in, even as their ranks shrink It’s much easier to lure someone into your club when innocent bystanders are footing the bill.
Reclassifiying Rhode Island’s independent workforce could cost the state millions
May 25, 2023 // Actual instances of misclassification are already addressed by existing laws. And if workers desire to obtain benefits, health care, or otherwise, they need not be traditional employees to do so. To prevent forced misclassification in Rhode Island, lawmakers should propose reforms like portable benefits to allow workers to maintain their independence yet apply for benefits as needed. Utah just pioneered this reform to allow worker benefits to follow workers, not employers. With a portable benefits system in place, forced reclassification efforts like SB 430 can be defeated. As of December 2022, 27 percent — or 85,116 self-employed gig workers — of Rhode Island’s small business workforce engages in independent contract work. That should be celebrated, not undone by misguided policymaking that seeks to correct a non-problem.
U.S. Independent Professionals Earned $286 Billion in 2022, a Nearly 10% Increase Compared to 2021, According to Fiverr’s Sixth Annual Freelance Economic Impact Report
May 19, 2023 // Women see a clear advantage to freelancing over traditional employment This year’s report reveals that women are pursuing freelance work for a number of reasons, including that they prefer to work from home (41% versus 31% men), want more flexibility in their schedule (39% versus 22% men), feel burned out (25% versus 17% men), want to avoid an unpleasant or toxic work environment (26% versus 15% men), and experience a lack of enjoyment in their work (22% versus 13% men). The ability to “work from anywhere” remains a priority for freelancers and more plan to work and travel next year The ability to “work from anywhere” while traveling is a major factor or somewhat of a factor in the decision for nearly three-in-four (73%) freelancers who work independently to do so. Working remotely while traveling is becoming more common, with one-third (32%) of independent professionals reporting they did at least some work from remote locations in 2022 compared to only 23% in 2021.
EXPERT INSIGHT: White House Claims that Federal Union Membership Grew Under Biden Appear Incorrect
May 3, 2023 // Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data reinforces this conclusion. BLS works with the Census Bureau to conduct monthly surveys used to calculate the unemployment rate. The interviewers also ask respondents questions about where they work and whether they are union members. Economists use the survey data to estimate union membership in various industries, including the federal government. Because the BLS data comes from a survey, it has a statistical margin of error and is less precise than union financial filings. Nonetheless, the BLS data shows the same pattern as union financial filings: A slight increase in 2022 and a modest overall decrease since 2020.
Commentary: One proposal to modernize labor laws would benefit women; another could set them back decades
May 5, 2022 // The PRO Act seeks to regress to the 1950s workplace that denied workers the flexibility needed to balance work/life demands. The ERA would preserve the gains women have made and provide important rights of autonomy, privacy, and opportunity for women and men alike.