Union Membership Holds Steady

The percentage of federal employees who are members of unions, 59 percent, has not changed over the last five years, the Office of Personnel Management reported this week.

Downsizing has taken its toll on union membership. As of Jan. 1, 1,098,072 federal employees were represented by unions, 164,787 fewer than in 1992, the last time OPM compiled union data. But the percentage of employees who are union members remained constant at 59 percent.

The percentage of blue collar workers covered by unions fell from 91 percent in 1992 to 88 percent this year, while the percentage of white collar union members rose from 53 percent to 55 percent.

The Defense Logistics Agency and the Treasury Department have the highest percentage of union members, 81 percent, of any of the major agencies. The Social Security Administration has the third highest representation (77 percent) and the Air Force has the fourth highest (74 percent).

The American Federation of Government Employees, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, remains the largest union, representing 596,206 employees, or 32 percent of the federal workforce. The National Treasury Employees Union is the second largest, representing 136,577 employees, and the National Federation of Federal Employees comes in third, with 123,660 employees.

AGENCIES WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF UNION MEMBERS, 1997