Union membership has declined nearly 10 percent in Hawaii since 1989, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But despite this downward trend, the BLS reports that Hawaii still has the second-highest percentage of union membership in the nation behind New York.

In 2015, nearly one in five workers in Hawaii — 20.4 percent — was part of a union. That’s slightly less than in 2014, when 21.8 percent of the workforce was part of an organized labor group.
Nationwide union membership in 2015 was just over 11 percent. That’s roughly the same as it was in 2014.
Several Southern states, in particular North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia, had some of the lowest rates of union membership, well below the national average.
GET IN-DEPTH
REPORTING ON HAWAII’S BIGGEST ISSUES
What stories will you help make possible?
Civil Beat’s reporting has helped paint a more complete picture of Hawaiʻi with stories that you won’t find anywhere else.
Your donation today will ensure that our newsroom has the resources to provide you with thorough, unbiased reporting on the issues that matter most to Hawaiʻi.
Give now. We can’t do this without you.
About the Author
-
Nick Grube is a reporter for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at nick@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @nickgrube. You can also reach him by phone at 808-377-0246.