President Joe Biden said in a speech on Monday that he has been encouraging unions from the beginning.
The US secretary of labor told Insider that the administration is pro-worker. The president can be helpful to the labor movement.
Insider looked at how the union membership rate has changed over time.
The chart shows how the union membership rate has changed over time.
Over time, the membership rate has fallen. 20% of wage and salary workers were union members in the first year. In 1993 it fell to 15.7%. The rate stood at 10.3% in the late 1980's.
Industry and occupational groups have different memberships. Education, training, and library occupations have the highest rate among occupational groups at 34.6% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Gallup data shows that the number of Americans who approve of labor unions is going up. Since 1965, the share has been the highest.
The low unemployment rate created an environment that fostered union membership and resulted in the formation of unions at several high-profile companies.
The Economic Policy Institute says that unions can have positive impacts on workers. The 17 states with the highest union densities have state minimum wages that are higher than the national average. It isn't just pay.
Union workers are more likely to have paid sick days compared to other workers.
Biden claimed that the middle class built America. Everyone is aware of that. The middleclass was built by unions.
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