After years of decline, union membership in the US increased by 411,000 members in 2025, the largest increase since 2008, according to a new report. The report makes clear the impact that “right to work” laws can have on union membership: most gains were concentrated in states that protect collective bargaining. Union membership rates in those states were nearly triple than the 26 states with so-called “right-to-work” laws that weaken union membership, according to the report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
States with collective bargaining protections saw an increase of nearly 305,000 union members in 2025, compared to about 107,000 in “right-to-work” states. States with protections have over 10.9 million members out of 76.9 million workers, compared to “right-to-work” states that have 3.7 million members out of 69.7 million workers. Most right-to-work legislation was passed in the 1940s and 1950s after a movement from conservative activist Vance Muse, who coined the term and championed it in southern states with arguments to preserve Jim Crow-era laws.
Legislation included paid sick leave and medical leave passed in Virginia, warehouse worker protections passed in Connecticut and banning nearly all non-compete agreements in Washington. Earlier reports had shown that 2025 was a big year for unions: 16.5 million workers were represented by unions in 2025, the highest level recorded in 16 years, accounting for 11.2% of all wage and salary workers in the US. Union density, or the percentage of workers in a union, increased from 9.9% to 10.0% nationally in 2025.
The uptick in union membership coincides with high public approval ratings of unions. According to a recently released Gallup poll, 71% of Americans approve of labor unions and 47% want unions to have more influence. Ahead of Labor Day, the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US, released poll results that found 52% of the American public said they trust labor unions, compared to 32% who said they trust Democratic party and 26% who trust the Republican party.
The poll also found young workers trust unions at higher rates, with 57% of young workers who are not in a union stating that they would join one if it were an option. Four out of five say: paychecks aren’t keeping up with the cost of living – groceries, rent, childcare, gas. This is happening, by the way, in a country where CEOs now make an average of 312 times what the median worker makes.
CEOs got a 21% raise in one year – who else gets that?” Researchers of the new report found that labor unions raise average wages by 8% nationally and workers in states that protect collective bargaining rights earn 8% more, after accounting for cost of living differences, than those in states with restrictions. Workers in these states also experienced 3% slower wage growth from 2019 to 2025. This wage gap between workers in states with protections versus those without has more than doubled over the past decade, from 3.2% in 2015 to 6.7% in 2025, translating to over $4,000 less per year for the median full-time worker.
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