State of the Unions
The total number of U.S. workers belonging to a union dropped to a record low of 11.7% last year, a decline from 12.6% in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual “Union Members Summary.” In addition, 88.3% of U.S. construction industry workforce—7.652 million people—did not belong to a union in 2022.
Construction unions actually lost thousands of members over the past year, decreasing from 1.024 million in 2021 to 1.019 million members in 2022—despite the fact that the construction industry grew by 514,000 workers last year. “Year-over-year construction industry union membership dropped despite robust overall job growth,” says ABC Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck, “suggesting that construction industry workers are not enthusiastic about joining a union when given a choice to do so.”
A Disastrous Year
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association has calculated that 2022 was the third most costly year on record for weather- and climate-related disasters, with 18 events causing more than $165 billion in damage. Disasters are also happening more frequently, with the amount of time between billion-dollar disasters dropping from 82 days in 1980 to just 18 days in 2022.
Due to this information, NOAA, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the University of Maryland Center for Technology and Systems Management recently unveiled a memorandum of understanding that details the ways NOAA’s science and products will be used to inform building and civil engineering codes, standards and best practice manuals. The partnership will also focus on inequities in climate resilience.
