This chart shows how union membership has declined over the years

Supporters of Amazon workers attempting to win a second union election at the LDJ5 Amazon Sort Center join a rally in support of the union on April 24, 2022 in Staten Island, New York.

Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

• President Joe Biden said in a Labor Day speech that he encourages unions.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the union membership rate has dropped from 20.1% in 1983.
• Gallup data for 2022 shows the highest share of Americans approve of labor unions since 1965.

President Joe Biden said in a Labor Day speech on Monday at Laborfest in Milwaukee that he is encouraging unions, adding he has been doing this "from day one."

"The labor movement represents workers in America, and this administration is very pro-worker," Marty Walsh, US secretary of labor, told Insider's Juliana Kaplan. "When the labor movement calls on something where the president can be helpful, he is."

With September 5 being Labor Day, Insider looked back at how the union membership rate has changed over the past few decades.

The following chart, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows how the union membership rate has changed from 1983 to 2021, the most recent year with data:

The union membership rate has dropped over time. In 1983, the first year with available data, 20.1% of wage and salary workers were union members. A decade later in 1993 it had fallen to 15.7%. Decades later in 2021, the rate stood at 10.3%.

Union membership varies by industry and by occupational groups. According to the most recent release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on 2021 data, "education, training, and library occupations" has the highest rate among occupational groups at 34.6%.

Additionally, Gallup data from the Gallup's annual Work and Education survey shows that 71% of Americans approve of labor unions in 2022, up from 68% a year ago. The share in 2022 means its the highest share since since 1965.

"The low unemployment rate that developed during the pandemic altered the balance of power between employers and employees, creating an environment fostering union membership that has resulted in the formation of unions at several high-profile companies," Gallup's Justin McCarthy wrote about the results. 

According to a 2021 post from The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), unions can have different positive impacts on workers and others. For instance, the 17 states with the highest union densities "have state minimum wages that are on average 19% higher than the national average and 40% higher than those in low-union-density states." But it's not just pay.

For instance, EPI says that union workers are also more likely to have paid sick days than their peers.

"The middle class built America," Biden said during his speech in Milwaukee. "Everybody knows that. But unions built the middle class."

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