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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://247wallst.com/2013/02/22/the-states-with-the-strongest-and-weakest-unions-3/">http://247wallst.com/2013/02/22/the-states-with-the-strongest-and-weakest-unions-3/</a>
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<p>Last year, the number of union members in the U.S. fell by more
than 400,000, or 2.7%. This decline was just a drop in the bucket
compared to the long-term collapse of organized labor over the
past several decades. In the past few years, states like Wisconsin
and Michigan have passed legislation like “right-to-work” laws and
even banned collective bargaining, further undermining public and
private unions.</p>
<p>Unionization in this country varies widely from state to state.
In places like New York and Alaska, more than 20% of workers were
union members in 2012. In states like Arkansas and North Carolina,
the number was closer to 3%. The concentration of unions in states
has a lot to do with their employment base and political
atmosphere. But one thing is clear, only seven states have seen
the percentage of workers in unions increase in the past 10 years,
and things are not looking up for organized labor. Based on data
collected by the Bureau of Labor statistics and calculations by <a
href="http://unionstats.com/">Unionstats.com</a>, 24/7 Wall St.
identified the states with the strongest and weakest unions.<br>
</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://247wallst.com/2013/02/22/the-states-with-the-strongest-and-weakest-unions-3/4/">http://247wallst.com/2013/02/22/the-states-with-the-strongest-and-weakest-unions-3/4/</a>
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<p><b><strong>States with the Weakest Unions</strong></b></p>
<p><b>8. Idaho</b><br>
<b>> Pct. of workers in unions: </b>4.8% (tied for 7th lowest)<br>
<b>> Union workers: </b>29,216 (4th lowest)<br>
<b>> 10-yr. change in union membership: </b>-25.2% (9th
largest decrease)<br>
<b>> Total employment: </b>613,845 (11th lowest)</p>
<p>Although the number of jobs in Idaho increased by more than 11%
between 2002 and 2012, union membership declined by a quarter in
the same time period. The decline was dispersed relatively evenly
across the public and private sectors, with membership falling
21.5% and 28.1%, respectively. In January 2012, a federal judge
ruled that a pair of anti-union laws passed by the conservative
Idaho legislature violated federal law. As passed, these laws
prohibited “job targeting programs” that used union dues to help
contractors win bids and also banned “project labor agreements”
that allowed contractors to sign agreements with union workers
while concurrently bidding on public projects.<br>
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<p><br>
Ken<br>
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