Labor unions have historically delivered pathways into good, middle-class careers. Through
collective bargaining, union workers earn higher wages, are more likely to have health insurance
coverage, and have greater access to paid leave.

Read the report here: The State of the Unions 2022: A Profile of Unionization in Chicago, in Illinois, and in the United States

A recent surge in union activity is taking place following years of worsening inequality, the COVID19 pandemic, and a national labor shortage.

  • Workers at Amazon facilities, Starbucks stores, cannabis cultivation centers and dispensaries,
    and other workplaces have recently voted to join or form unions.
  • Public approval of labor unions is at 71 percent, its highest level in six decades.
  • In Illinois, there were 58 successful union petitions in 2021, the most since 2014—a 60 percent
    success rate that was higher than at any other time over the past decade.

Today, Illinois’ union membership rate is about 14 percent, which is the 11th-highest union density
among the 50 U.S. states.

  • Even as the number of union members declined nationally, Illinois added union members
    between 2020 and 2021—the state’s first increase since 2017.
  • Between 2012 and 2021, unionization rates declined by 0.7 percentage points in Illinois and
    0.9 percentage points in the United States.
  • In the last decade, union membership in Illinois decreased by about 48,000 members, but the
    Chicago area added about 30,000 members while “Downstate” Illinois lost 78,000 members.
  • Since 2017, the year before the Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 Supreme Court decision, there
    are now about 76,000 fewer union members in Illinois.

As Illinois and the nation face high inflation and continue to deal with a global pandemic, unions
offer workers vital tools for combatting rising costs and promoting workplace safety. While a
tightening labor market and a recent wave of unionization drives demonstrate that many workers
want to organize and join unions, legal and political opposition are significant challenges for the
labor movement.