Data Bytes: Amazon Union

A Union at Amazon?  

Source:  Pew Research Center

Monday, March 29th marked the official end of voting for nearly 6,000 Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama.  Workers cast their ballots by mail on whether to unionize.  Amazon, the country’s second-largest private employer with some 800,000 workers, fought hard to stop organizing efforts.  Previous attempts to unionize at other Amazon sites have failed.  

Yet this vote has attracted notable media attention and garnered sympathy from both sides of the political aisle.  President Biden and Republican Senator Marco Rubio endorsed the union push.  Unquestionably, the stakes are high.  A union victory would mark an epic win for labor interests.        

In the United States, public sector jobs draw more union support than the private sector.  Over 40% of local government employees are unionized, nearly 30% of state employees, and just over a quarter of federal.  

By contrast, the largest union share in the private sector is utility companies – 20.6%. Second, is transportation and warehousing at 17% and telecommunications third at 14.3%.

Union presence also varies by state.  Hawaii tops the list at nearly 25% of all wage and salary employees, followed closely by New York at 22%.