This number bucks the trend of declining union membership that has been experienced by other industries, namely manufacturing, over the past several years. In 2009, American unions included 15.3 million members, down from a peak of nearly 21 million, according to a report by American Medical News.
Unions are focusing in on healthcare workers because of continued growth expected in the field, while healthcare workers have similarly been drawn to unions because of cost-cutting and other pressures that have impacted the field in recent years, according to the report.
Studies show that unionized healthcare workers received 14.3 percent higher pay than non-unionized workers. However, this is less of a difference than is seen among non-healthcare unionized workers, who earn nearly 28 percent more than their non-unionized counterparts, according to the report. In addition to salary concerns, recent moves by hospitals to cut benefits and staffing ratios may also attract nurses and other healthcare professionals to unions, according to the report.
The unionization trend has been playing out at hospitals around the country. In December, the California Nurses Association, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, the Massachusetts Nurses Association and United American Nurses merged to become the 150,000-member National Nurses United, which is expected to give the groups greater bargaining power.
Read the American Medical News’ report on healthcare unions.
