There was a surge in unionization during the Great Depression

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/business/22union.html?_r=1

Union Membership in U.S. Fell to a 70-Year Low Last Year

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Published: January 21, 2011

The number of American workers in unions declined sharply last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, with the percentage slipping to 11.9 percent, the lowest rate in more than 70 years.

The report found that the number of workers in unions fell by 612,000 last year to 14.7 million, an even larger decrease than the overall 417,000 decline in the total number of Americans working.

“It was a very tough year for unionized workers,” said John Schmitt, a senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “We’re seeing declines in the private sector, and we’re seeing declines in the public sector.” snip

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the overall unionization rate last year was down from 12.3 percent in 2009 and 20.1 percent in 1983, when there were 17.7 million union members. The peak unionization rate was 35 percent during the mid-1950s, after a surge in unionization during the Great Depression and after World War II.

[AzDar]

1. Hopefully, we'll see membership explode with the coming of The next Depression...

I've a feeling it'll be here before we know it.