TERRE HAUTE —
As a percentage of the workforce, Hoosier labor union membership dropped to its lowest recorded level in 2012, according to figures released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Just 9.1 percent of Hoosier workers were members of unions last year, a drop of more than 2 percent from the year before, according to the BLS. This marks the first time since the government started tracking individual state data in 1989 that Indiana’s union workforce has fallen below 10 percent.
For Indiana this continues a steep, decades-long decline in the unionized workforce, a decline that has outpaced even the nationwide downward trend during the same period.
Before about 2001, Indiana’s unionized workforce was well above the national level, according to the BLS.
However, beginning about five years ago, the percentage of union workers in the state fell below the national percentage, where it has remained, the data show.
Former Gov. Mitch Daniels, who took office in 2005, likely helped accelerate the trend. On his first day in office he ended collective bargaining for state workers and, at the end of his second term, he signed Indiana’s new right-to-work law, which makes it illegal for a worker to be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment, a measure unions fiercely fought.
Through all this, unions in the Terre Haute area are managing to hold their own, but are definitely awaiting a shift in the political winds, said Bill Treash, president of the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council,
“We’re maintaining our numbers,” Treash told the Tribune-Star on Friday. “We may have lost a few, but not much.”
Treash said the biggest drop in union membership has been felt in the public sector. First, there was the drop in state government employee union membership after the 2005 executive order from Gov. Daniels eliminating collective bargaining for state workers. Now, postal employees are struggling to keep their jobs, he said.
“We’re just trying to survive until we get some different leadership” in Indianapolis, Treash said.
Meanwhile, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 725, which is based in Terre Haute but covers several surrounding counties, has managed to keep its membership numbers steady despite the slow economy of the past several years and other challenges, said Paul Rupska, president of the local and assistant business agent. That’s thanks in large part to the construction of the Edwardsport Power Station in Knox County, he said.
“Edwardsport was a really good thing for our area,” he said. There are currently 657 members in the local and about 35 new members – a record high – are about to graduate from the union’s apprenticeship program, Rupska said. To the extent the local is losing members, it is due to age – many baby boomers are retiring and many younger workers are intimidated by the union’s demanding standards, he said.
As for Indiana’s new right-to-work legislation, it may be too soon to realize its full impact, said Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois. The law only affects new labor contracts, so many contracts that existed before the law was passed are still in effect, he said.
Still, historically, in states where right-to-work laws have passed, union membership is typically “diluted,” Bruno said.
There is nothing new about the most recent decline in Indiana’s union workforce. The Hoosier state has followed a national trend for decades. In 1983, 20 percent of the national workforce was unionized while 22 percent of Hoosier workers were. Today, the national figure is just 11.3 percent while the state is closer to 9 percent, according to the BLS.
It may be far too soon to forecast the death of organized labor, however. If economic and social inequality continues to expand in the U.S., union membership could grow, Bruno said. “Typically, when that happens, you create conditions where people are willing to look for collective solutions,” he said.
It’s also possible new, pro-labor, legislation could come out of Washington D.C., Bruno said. That would help reverse what he calls highly unfavorable labor legislation now on the books.
Another possible life preserver for unions could be the sort of non-union, worker-centered public relations campaigns we saw around Black Friday last November. In those cases, non-union workers at companies such as Walmart launched well-publicized campaigns against working on the Thanksgiving holiday. That campaign was effective and signals a new, non-traditional approach to labor organization that could continue to grow, Bruno said.
“I think you’re going to see this really expand,” Bruno said. “These are marginal” gains for organized labor at this point, he said. “But, often times, change starts in these marginal kinds of ways.”
Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at 812-231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com
News
Where have all the members gone?
Labor union membership in Indiana hits its lowest level in history
- News
-
-
Banks of the Wabash Festival is more than just yearly entertainment
Pioneers think counterintuitively. Where others see widespread apathy, they focus on the possibility for progress. In a way, the 2013 Year of the River celebration began in the 1970s.
-
Planning session aims to better Terre Haute
It’s not yet clear what will come of it, but dozens of community leaders spent the whole day Wednesday trying to develop a plan – or collection of plans – to make Terre Haute “a better community.”
-
Education funding boost won’t benefit all schools
In the budget bill passed by the General Assembly last month, there is more money allocated for K-12 education over the next two years, but that doesn’t mean every school will get more dollars.
- Day of Action job options open
-
Park Board renames land around Memorial Stadium
Land surrounding Indiana State University’s Memorial Stadium on Terre Haute’s east side has been designated as Veterans Memorial Park, following a unanimous vote Wednesday from the Terre Haute Park Board.
-
Deputy suffers minor injury during incident
A Vigo County Sheriff’s deputy received a minor injury to his hand Tuesday night while subduing a drunken driving suspect who fled behind a North Terre Haute business.
-
Man accused of child neglect gets new trial date
An Oct. 15 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute man arrested in November for child neglect after he and his wife allegedly tied up and confined their adopted children in the family home.
-
Police find meth labs, arrest Pierson Township man
Police uncovered two active methamphetamine labs in southeastern Vigo County on Monday, leading to the arrest of a Pierson Township man.
-
New date set for attempted murder trial
A new trial date has been set for a Terre Haute woman charged with attempted murder.
-
Rose-Hulman professor researching ways to make homes storm safe
Tornadoes produce greater uplift forces than hurricanes, which can flatten homes such as in Moore Okla., south of Oklahoma City.
-
Group wants to connect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River
Fairbanks Park is underutilized.
The Wabash River is peaceful and inviting, but there is some concern about its cleanliness as well as pollution levels. Also, people can’t get on the river unless they have a boat. -
New conservancy district appoints first directors
Members of the first board of directors of a new lake conservancy district were appointed Tuesday by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
-
Vigo law enforcement signs Triad charter to protect seniors
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined Vigo County law enforcement and community activists Tuesday to sign the county’s first Triad charter, becoming the 22nd Triad in Indiana.
-
Wabash Valley Red Cross wraps up Save the Day Campaign
The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter’s 2013 annual meeting concluded the 17th annual Save the Day Campaign, and the results lifted the spirits of all who were involved.
-
Some Vigo roads washed out
Spring storms resulted in $250,000 in damages to roads in southern Vigo County, with costs including sand and labor to save homes near river bottoms, said county highway Assistant Superintendent Dan Bennett.
-
County Council votes $78K toward rail spur
County officials voted Tuesday night to make good on a 2011 promise to help improve a railroad spur just north of Terre Haute for Menard Inc.
-
Spring flooding damages future CSO holding lagoon
Flood waters from the Wabash River have done costly damage to one of the city-owned “lagoons” on former International Paper property.
-
Vigo tops state average for IREAD-3 scores
The Vigo County School Corp. exceeded the state average in the percentage of students passing the state’s mandatory Grade 3 reading test, IREAD-3.
-
Storms cause minor damage in Valley
Tuesday morning storms in the Wabash Valley caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to lose power.
-
Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
-
‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
-
Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
-
Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
-
Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
-
2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
-
Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
- More News Headlines
-
Johnson: Don't Blame Islam or UK Policy
Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death
Chain-Reaction School Bus Crash Injures About 50
Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo
Raw: 80-Year-Old Climbs Mount Everest
Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense
Wash. State Man Arrested Following Ricin Scare
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
Oklahoma Family Reflects on Lost Son
Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness
Boy Scouts Decision "First Step" Say Activists
Raw: Utah Teen Arrested in Death of His Brothers
Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam
A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs
Raw: Jurors Deadlock on Jodi Arias Penalty
Boy Scouts Mom Supports Gay Inclusiveness
New Forecasting Tool Eyed for Hurricane Season
Meet MJ, the Bike Riding Tabby Cat
Closer Look at Okla. School Where Children Died
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
