New data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows union representation grew by 463,000 in 2025, bringing the total number of workers represented by union contracts to 16.5 million. Thanks to years of sustained organizing, 11.2% of all wage and salary workers in the United States are now covered under union contracts, up from 2024 and the highest in 16 years.
“Billionaire bosses and union-busting politicians have tried to throw the kitchen sink at working people and their unions—slashing our jobs and rigging the rules to scare us out of organizing— but they are failing,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “Working people are experiencing relentless attacks on our freedoms and our livelihoods. These numbers confirm what we’ve seen in the labor movement: Workers have felt President Trump’s billionaire-first agenda in action and are hungry to take back their power. Workers know that the best check on a bad boss is a strong union contract. In 2026, workers will continue to organize in every corner of the country and build power to fight for the lives they deserve.”
“Labor is one of the last institutions in this country that working people actually trust,” added Shuler. “Nearly 70% of Americans support unions and more than 50 million more workers are eager to join one—but broken labor law still has the deck stacked against them. Too many face vicious union-busting and retaliation for organizing and punishing lay-offs even as corporate bosses rake in profits. When Trump shut down the National Labor Relations Board from functioning by denying it a quorum, workers were forced to wait—beyond their own bosses’ delaying tactics—for their elections to be certified and legal justice to be served.”
The new report shows undeniable energy across the country:
- Years of organizing in new industries, workplaces and in “right to work” states in the South have pushed nationwide union density to 10%.
- Nearly half of all union growth came from Southern states, with younger workers organizing at a rapid pace.
- The number of public sector workers represented by a union grew by 236,000, up to 36.4% of that workforce.
- Despite the biggest act of union-busting in history, union density among federal workers grew to over 31%—the largest single-year increase since 2011—as workers responded to DOGE-driven attacks aimed at stripping away collective bargaining rights and driving experts out of their jobs.
- Private sector union representation grew to add 227,000 workers, with significant gains in health care, retail, education services and construction.
- Workers are looking to the labor movement for solutions as artificial intelligence (AI) threatens their jobs and basic rights. Already, the White House is barreling ahead with its billionaire-first “AI Action Plan” and empowering CEOs to use AI as an excuse to slash payrolls, with 7% of planned job cuts attributed to the new technology.
“Politicians face a clear mandate to stand up to union-busting bosses, whether they are in the corner office or the oval office,” Shuler said. “We call on Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, and to reverse the single largest act of union-busting in American history by passing the Protect America's Workforce Act in the Senate.”
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.