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Unions: 10% of US Workers, 1% of Farm Workers

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April 7, 2023

The share of US workers who were union members fell to 10 percent in 2022, down from 20 percent in 1983. The wage and salary workforce rose by 50 percent between 1983 and 2022 while the number of union members fell by 20 percent.

The W&S workforce rose 50%, and union membership fell 20%, 1983-2022

The W&S workforce rose 50%, and union membership fell 20%, 1983-2022
Year Wage and Salary (mils) Union Members Share
1983 90 18 20%
2022 142 14 10%

A third of public sector workers are union members, compared with six percent of private sector workers. Two states, HI and NY, have more than 20 percent of workers who are union members. A third of the 14 million US union members live in two states, CA with 2.6 million and NY with 1.7 million.

Union membership is also falling in other countries. In Australia, 12 percent of workers are union members, including eight percent of private sector workers, down from over 50 percent in the early 1980s. Some US states and Britain, Canada, India and Japan allow closed shop or agency shop arrangements, which means that employers and unions can sign agreements that require all employees to be union members or to pay most union dues. US right-to-work states do not allow such agreements; Michigan repealed its right-to-work in March 2023.

US. There were 142 million US wage and salary workers in 2022, and 14 million were union members, including seven million union members in the public sector and seven million in the private sector. About two million workers are represented by unions but are not union members.

14 million union members in 2022 were 10 percent of the 142 million W&S employees

Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, 2021-2022 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic 2021 2022
Total employed Members of unions Represented by unions Total employed Members of unions Represented by unions
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed
AGE AND SEX  
Total, 16 years and over 136,393 14,012 10.3 15,802 11.6 141,673 14,285 10.1 16,002 11.3
  16 to 24 years 18,083 763 4.2 954 5.3 18,811 830 4.4 984 5.2
  25 years and over 118,311 13,249 11.2 14,849 12.6 122,863 13,456 11.0 15,018 12.2
    25 to 34 years 32,360 3,041 9.4 3,449 10.7 33,030 2,965 9.0 3,343 10.1
    35 to 44 years 29,260 3,326 11.4 3,740 12.8 30,955 3,460 11.2 3,848 12.4
    45 to 54 years 26,851 3,521 13.1 3,880 14.4 27,753 3,502 12.6 3,904 14.1
    55 to 64 years 22,210 2,696 12.1 3,028 13.6 23,130 2,799 12.1 3,097 13.4
    65 years and over 7,629 665 8.7 751 9.8 7,995 731 9.1 826 10.3
 
Men, 16 years and over 70,739 7,523 10.6 8,416 11.9 73,672 7,771 10.5 8,551 11.6
  16 to 24 years 9,069 475 5.2 571 6.3 9,481 504 5.3 583 6.1
  25 years and over 61,670 7,047 11.4 7,845 12.7 64,192 7,267 11.3 7,968 12.4
    25 to 34 years 17,145 1,713 10.0 1,916 11.2 17,370 1,654 9.5 1,827 10.5
    35 to 44 years 15,503 1,763 11.4 1,967 12.7 16,350 1,895 11.6 2,085 12.8
    45 to 54 years 13,716 1,799 13.1 1,962 14.3 14,313 1,819 12.7 1,989 13.9
    55 to 64 years 11,290 1,417 12.6 1,595 14.1 11,931 1,497 12.5 1,621 13.6
    65 years and over 4,015 355 8.8 405 10.1 4,228 402 9.5 446 10.5
 
Women, 16 years and over 65,654 6,490 9.9 7,386 11.3 68,001 6,515 9.6 7,451 11.0
  16 to 24 years 9,013 288 3.2 383 4.2 9,330 326 3.5 401 4.3
  25 years and over 56,641 6,202 10.9 7,003 12.4 58,671 6,189 10.5 7,050 12.0
    25 to 34 years 15,216 1,328 8.7 1,533 10.1 15,660 1,311 8.4 1,516 9.7
    35 to 44 years 13,757 1,563 11.4 1,774 12.9 14,605 1,565 10.7 1,764 12.1
    45 to 54 years 13,135 1,721 13.1 1,918 14.6 13,441 1,683 12.5 1,915 14.2
    55 to 64 years 10,919 1,279 11.7 1,433 13.1 11,199 1,302 11.6 1,475 13.2
    65 years and over 3,613 310 8.6 346 9.6 3,767 328 8.7 380 10.1

The highest unionization rate, the share of union members to employment in a sector, is in public protective service occupations such as police and fire as well as education, where a third of employees are union members. The highest unionization rates in the private sector are in utilities, where 20 percent of employees are union members, motion pictures, 17 percent, and transportation, 14 percent. Less than two percent of employees in finance and insurance, food service, and agriculture are union members.

Union members earn more than non-union members, an average $1,200 a week in 2022 versus $1,000 a week for non-union members.

Union members earned $200 a week more than non-union members in 2022

Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by union affiliation and selected characteristics, 2021-2022 annual averages
Characteristic 2021 2022
Total Members of unions Represented by unions Non-union Total Members of unions Repre sented by unions Non-union
AGE AND SEX  
Total, 16 years and over $998 $1,169 $1,158 $975 $1,059 $1,216 $1,203 $1,029
  16 to 24 years 623 757 744 617 691 795 798 685
  25 years and over 1,057 1,192 1,180 1,030 1,123 1,242 1,233 1,100
    25 to 34 years 931 1,049 1,038 916 992 1,115 1,104 979
    35 to 44 years 1,131 1,264 1,252 1,107 1,181 1,329 1,320 1,161
    45 to 54 years 1,154 1,266 1,257 1,136 1,194 1,350 1,327 1,167
    55 to 64 years 1,132 1,224 1,224 1,111 1,154 1,225 1,223 1,144
    65 years and over 994 1,083 1,093 980 1,031 1,157 1,179 1,010
 
Men, 16 years and over 1,097 1,227 1,217 1,069 1,154 1,273 1,266 1,137
  16 to 24 years 650 771 750 640 713 801 805 707
  25 years and over 1,160 1,253 1,245 1,146 1,219 1,314 1,305 1,201
    25 to 34 years 972 1,105 1,093 959 1,040 1,147 1,144 1,023
    35 to 44 years 1,241 1,363 1,354 1,221 1,297 1,409 1,397 1,270
    45 to 54 years 1,295 1,339 1,337 1,281 1,336 1,405 1,378 1,324
    55 to 64 years 1,256 1,268 1,265 1,254 1,294 1,303 1,301 1,293
    65 years and over 1,129 1,148 1,150 1,124 1,196 1,234 1,264 1,179
 
Women, 16 years and over 912 1,104 1,086 884 958 1,146 1,135 932
  16 to 24 years 605 745 739 599 656 778 779 649
  25 years and over 954 1,126 1,115 930 1,002 1,160 1,151 979
    25 to 34 years 881 1,008 1,003 862 938 1,069 1,049 923
    35 to 44 years 992 1,168 1,151 967 1,065 1,202 1,192 1,036
    45 to 54 years 1,012 1,180 1,162 981 1,058 1,262 1,238 1,018
    55 to 64 years 976 1,157 1,164 953 1,007 1,146 1,145 987
    65 years and over 867 1,012 1,016 846 874 968 973 857

Agriculture. BLS data on union membership are from the Current Population Survey, which found that average wage and salary employment in farming occupations was 910,000 in 2022, including 39,000 union members and 43,000 workers represented by unions. CPS reported an average 1.3 million workers employed in the agricultural industry in 2022, including 48,000 were union members and 54,000 workers represented by unions. CPS samples of farm workers are small.

CPS samples of farm workers are small, and the CPS did not report median weekly wages for union workers in farming occupations or the agricultural industry, but nonunion workers in farming occupations earned a median $645 a week in 2022 and $710 a week in the agricultural industry.

CPS data found less than 50,000 union members in US agriculture in 2022

Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry, 2021-2022 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Occupation and industry 2021 2022
Total employed Members of unions Represented by unions Total employed Members of unions Represented by unions
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed
OCCUPATION  
Management, professional, and related occupations 56,870 6,241 11.0 7,177 12.6 59,979 6,268 10.5 7,202 12.0
  Management, business, and financial operations occupations 22,850 1,021 4.5 1,244 5.4 24,013 933 3.9 1,168 4.9
    Management occupations 14,730 645 4.4 786 5.3 15,693 603 3.8 747 4.8
    Business and financial operations occupations 8,120 376 4.6 458 5.6 8,319 329 4.0 421 5.1
  Professional and related occupations 34,020 5,220 15.3 5,933 17.4 35,966 5,335 14.8 6,034 16.8
    Computer and mathematical occupations 5,465 202 3.7 260 4.8 5,948 195 3.3 248 4.2
    Architecture and engineering occupations 3,083 181 5.9 215 7.0 3,335 200 6.0 231 6.9
    Life, physical, and social science occupations 1,535 153 10.0 190 12.4 1,679 152 9.1 180 10.7
    Community and social service occupations 2,630 384 14.6 426 16.2 2,749 436 15.9 495 18.0
    Legal occupations 1,518 89 5.8 103 6.8 1,547 80 5.1 102 6.6
    Education, training, and library occupations 8,672 3,004 34.6 3,353 38.7 8,976 3,027 33.7 3,347 37.3
    Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations 2,113 149 7.1 170 8.1 2,352 187 8.0 215 9.2
    Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations 9,005 1,057 11.7 1,217 13.5 9,381 1,058 11.3 1,216 13.0
Service occupations 21,708 2,094 9.6 2,314 10.7 22,968 2,293 10.0 2,502 10.9
  Healthcare support occupations 4,644 384 8.3 438 9.4 4,777 395 8.3 442 9.3
  Protective service occupations 2,917 970 33.3 1,036 35.5 3,071 1,062 34.6 1,126 36.7
  Food preparation and serving related occupations 7,178 222 3.1 254 3.5 7,749 279 3.6 316 4.1
  Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations 4,458 420 9.4 472 10.6 4,595 438 9.5 484 10.5
  Personal care and service occupations 2,511 97 3.9 113 4.5 2,776 118 4.3 133 4.8
Sales and office occupations 27,651 1,702 6.2 1,991 7.2 27,804 1,674 6.0 1,924 6.9
  Sales and related occupations 12,366 406 3.3 491 4.0 12,183 361 3.0 434 3.6
  Office and administrative support occupations 15,285 1,296 8.5 1,500 9.8 15,621 1,313 8.4 1,490 9.5
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 11,911 1,777 14.9 1,923 16.1 12,180 1,736 14.3 1,864 15.3
  Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 931 37 4.0 43 4.7 910 39 4.3 43 4.7
  Construction and extraction occupations 6,528 1,119 17.1 1,198 18.4 6,831 1,120 16.4 1,190 17.4
  Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 4,451 621 14.0 681 15.3 4,439 577 13.0 631 14.2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 18,253 2,198 12.0 2,398 13.1 18,742 2,315 12.4 2,510 13.4
  Production occupations 7,647 827 10.8 912 11.9 7,898 903 11.4 966 12.2
  Transportation and material moving occupations 10,605 1,371 12.9 1,486 14.0 10,844 1,412 13.0 1,544 14.2
 
INDUSTRY  
Private sector 115,767 7,030 6.1 8,055 7.0 120,356 7,223 6.0 8,167 6.8
  Agriculture and related industries 1,308 37 2.9 41 3.1 1,252 48 3.9 54 4.3
  Nonagricultural industries 114,459 6,993 6.1 8,014 7.0 119,103 7,175 6.0 8,113 6.8
    Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 561 32 5.7 34 6.0 556 36 6.5 43 7.7
    Construction 8,157 1,024 12.6 1,112 13.6 8,671 1,019 11.7 1,076 12.4
    Manufacturing 14,134 1,082 7.7 1,203 8.5 14,577 1,139 7.8 1,254 8.6

UFW. The United Farm Workers union launched by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in 1962 is the best known farm worker union. The UFW won a 40 percent wage increase in its first grape contract in 1966, mounted a consumer boycott of table grapes in the late 1960s that persuaded a seventh of Americans to avoid table grapes, and spearheaded the most pro-union labor law in the US, the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975.

The UFW receives more financial support from donors than from union dues payments. UFW dues are three percent of member wages, and in 2021 the UFW’s union dues were $3.2 million or 43 percent of the UFW’s $7.5 million in receipts. The largest item in the $8.2 million of UFW expenditures was $2.6 million in general overhead, followed by $2.1 million for representational activities. The UFW receives donations from individuals and organizations, including $400,000 from Change to Win and $275,000 from CWOP covid outreach in 2021.

The UFW had $7.5 million in receipts and $8.2 million in expenses in 2021

Form LM-2 (Revised 2010); (Tech. Rev. 2/2013)
STATEMENT B - RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS
FILE NUMBER: 000-323
CASH RECEIPTS SCH AMOUNT
36. Dues and Agency Fees   $3,245,816
37. Per Capita Tax   $414,512
38. Fees, Fines, Assessments, Work Permits   $0
39. Sale of Supplies   $93,148
40. Interest   $8,999
41. Dividends   $82,964
42. Rents   $3,600
43. Sale of Investments and Fixed Assets 3  
44. Loans Obtained 9 $0
45. Repayments of Loans Made 2 $0
46. On Behalf of Affiliates for Transmittal to Them   $0
47. From Members for Disbursement on Their Behalf   $0
48. Other Receipts 14 $3,646,452
49. TOTAL RECEIPTS   $7,495,491
 
CASH DISBURSEMENTS SCH AMOUNT
50. Representational Activities 15 $2,072,050
51. Political Activities and Lobbying 16 $436,980
52. Contributions, Gifts, and Grants 17 $32,885
53. General Overhead 18 $2,694,008
54. Union Administration 19 $283,339
55. Benefits 20 $591,825
56. Per Capita Tax   $56,593
57. Strike Benefits   $0
58. Fees, Fines, Assessments, etc.   $0
59. Supplies for Resale   $23,011
60. Purchase of Investments and Fixed Assets 4 $1,640,000
61. Loans Made 2 $0
62. Repayment of Loans Obtained 9 $100,002
63. To Affiliates of Funds Collected on Their Behalf   $0
64. On Behalf of Individual Members   $0
65. Direct Taxes   $222,388
66. Subtotal   $8,153,081
Source: https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=812996&rptForm=LM2Form

The UFW reported 5,600 members and agency fee payers in 2021

Form LM-2 (Revised 2010); (Tech. Rev. 2/2013)
SCHEDULE 13 - MEMBERSHIP STATUS
FILE NUMBER: 000-323
Category of Membership (A) Number (B) Voting Eligibility (C)
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING MEMBERS 4,332 Yes
RETIRED MEMBERS 1,145 No
MEMBERS IN SERVICES 35 No
Members (Total of all lines above) 5,512  
Agency Fee Payers * 135  
Total Members/Fee Payers 5,647  
* Agency Fee Payers are not considered members of the labor organization.

The UFW reported $350,000 paid for RFK medical benefits for UFW employees, and $75,000 for JDLC pension benefits

Form LM-2 (Revised 2010); (Tech. Rev. 2/2013)
SCHEDULE 20 - BENEFITS
FILE NUMBER: 000-323
Description (A) To Whom Paid (B) Amount (C)
Medical Benefits for Employees RFK Medical Plan $353,458
Pension Benefits Juan De La Cruz Pension Plan $74,394
Anthem Blue Cross Life Insurance for Members $138,251
FIDEALITY 401 (K) CONTRIBUTIONS $15,524
UNITED HEALTH CARE DENTAL BENEFITS $10,198
Total of all lines above (Total will be automatically entered in Item 55.) $591,825

The UFW has contracts with 14 CA companies with consumer brands

Availability of Products and Produce under UFW Contract
Product 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Company Brand(s)
Berries  
  Strawberries O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
Swanton Berry Swanton Berry
  Blackberries   C O O C O O O Swanton Berry Swanton Berry
  Raspberries   C O O C O O O Swanton Berry Swanton Berry
  Blueberries   O O C   Gourmet Trading Co. Gourmet Trading Co.
 
Cactus Pear C C C C C C C C C C C C D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
Dates O O O O O O O O O O O O Pato’s Date Gardens Pato’s Dream Date Gardens
Mushrooms O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
Monterey Mushrooms,
Countryside Mushrooms
Monterey Mushrooms,
Del Fresh
Roses C C C C   C C Star Roses Star Roses
Tomatoes   C C C C C C Gargiulo Gargiulo
 
Vegetables  
  Beets C C C C C C C C C C C C Muranaka Farms Muranaka Farms
  Broccolli C C C C C C C C C C C C D’Arrigo Brothers, Andy Boy
  Broccolli Rabe C C C C C C C C C C C C D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
  Butter/Red Butter Lettuce   C C C C C C C C C   D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
  Cauliflower   C C C C C C C C C   D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
  Cilantro C C C C C C C C C C C C Muranaka Farms Muranaka Farms
  Fennel   C C C C C C C C C D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
  Green Leaf Lettuce   C C C C C C C C   D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
  Iceberg Lettuce   C C C C C C C C   D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
  Italian Parsley C C C C C C C C C C C C Muranaka Farms Muranaka Farms
  Kale O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
O
C
Muranaka Farms Muranaka Farms
  Leeks C C C C C C C C C C C C Muranaka Farms Muranaka Farms
  Mixed Green   C C C C C C C C C D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
  Radishes C C C C C C C C C C C C Muranaka Farms Muranaka Farms
  Romaine Hearts C C C C C C C C C C C C D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
  Romaine Lettuce C C C C C C C C C C C C D’Arrigo Brothers Andy Boy
 
Wine C C C C C C C C C C C C Scheid Vineyards Scheid Vineyards
  C C C C C C C C C C C C St. Supery St. Supery
Dollarhide Ranch
  C C C C C C C C C C C C Chateau St. Michelle Chateau St. Michelle, Columbia Crest
  C C C C C C C C C C C C Balleto Balleto
  C C C C C C C C C C C C CK Mondavi CK Mondavi
Charles Krug
  C C C C C C C C C C C C Gallo of Sonoma Gallo of Sonoma
Gallo of Sonoma
Frei Brothers
Souverain
Talbott
MacMurray
Gallo Family Vineyards
Apothic Red
Rancho Zavaco
  C C C C C C C C C C C C Papagni Fruit Co. Papagni Fruit Co.

The UFW persuaded the Legislature to amend the ALRA several times. In 2002, the ALRA was amended to provide for Mandatory Mediation and Conciliation (MMC) if certified unions could not negotiate collective bargaining agreements with employers. MMC allows a mediator to recommend that the ALRB impose a contract soon after a union is certified or if the union was certified in the past and the employer committed an unfair labor practice or ULP.

The ALRA was amended again in 2022 to provide for card-check elections. AB 2183 gave unions three ways to be certified to represent the workers on a farm.

First is the current in-person secret ballot election typically held on the farm that employs the voting workers. Under AB 2183, agricultural employers can insist on in-person secret ballots if they sign labor peace compacts that (1) give union organizers access to workers on their farms, effectively negating the 2021 USSC Cedar Point decision that limited the automatic access of union organizers to enter farms and talk to workers that was granted by the ALRB by regulation in 1975 and (2) promise to remain neutral during union organizing efforts. No employers registered for labor peace with the ALRB in January 2023.

Second, AB 2183 permits mail-in ballots that can be pre-filled by unions, signed by workers, and returned to the ALRB by workers or the union; this option is to be eliminated by promised legislation in 2023. Third are card check elections, which means that workers sign union authorization cards given to them by union organizers. Unions have a year to collect sufficient signed authorization cards before they can file a Majority Support Petition with the ALRB seeking certification to represent workers on a farm. Up to 75 card-check elections are allowed by 2028.

AB 2183 also allows the ALRB to impose civil penalties of $10,000 to $25,000 for each employer unfair labor practice, requires employers to post a bond before appealing an ALRB decision to a state Court of Appeal, and imposes a “burden of proof” standard on any party seeking to set aside a union election that it believes was tainted.

AB 2183 was supported by the UFW and the CRLA. Farm employers opposed AB 2183, emphasizing that employers who did not sign labor peace agreements could see union organizers pressure their employees to sign union authorization cards and allow a union could be certified without a secret-ballot election. Employer associations advised their members not to sign labor-peace agreements.

FLOC. The Farm Labor Organizing Committee is an Ohio-based union that represents farm workers in OH and NC. FLOC charges 2.5 percent of gross earnings for union dues, and had receipts of $640,000 and expenses of $670,000 in 2021.

90% of FLOC receipts are union dues, and 2/3 of expenditures are for representation

STATEMENT B - RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS
FILE NUMBER: 066-762
CASH RECEIPTS SCH AMOUNT
36. Dues and Agency Fees   $592,974
37. Per Capita Tax   $0
38. Fees, Fines, Assessments, Work Permits   $0
39. Sale of Supplies   $0
40. Interest   $1,019
41. Dividends   $0
42. Rents   $0
43. Sale of Investments and Fixed Assets 3  
44. Loans Obtained 9  
45. Repayments of Loans Made 2  
46. On Behalf of Affiliates for Transmittal to Them   $0
47. From Members for Disbursement on Their Behalf   $0
48. Other Receipts 14 $45,288
49. TOTAL RECEIPTS   $639,281
 
CASH DISBURSEMENTS SCH AMOUNT
50. Representational Activities 15 $431,314
51. Political Activities and Lobbying 16 $0
52. Contributions, Gifts, and Grants 17 $0
53. General Overhead 18 $55,222
54. Union Administration 19 $93,129
55. Benefits 20  
56. Per Capita Tax   $0
57. Strike Benefits   $0
58. Fees, Fines, Assessments, etc.   $0
59. Supplies for Resale   $0
60. Purchase of Investments and Fixed Assets 4  
61. Loans Made 2  
62. Repayment of Loans Obtained 9  
63. To Affiliates of Funds Collected on Their Behalf   $0
64. On Behalf of Individual Members   $72,880
65. Direct Taxes   $18,667
66. Subtotal   $671,212
Source: https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=813696&rptForm=LM2Form

FLOC reported 1,200 members and 120 associate members in 2021

SCHEDULE 13 - MEMBERSHIP STATUS
FILE NUMBER: 066-762
Category of Membership (A) Number (B) Voting Eligibility (C)
MEMBERS 1,175 Yes
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS (OH & NC) 121 Yes
Members (Total of all lines above) 1,296  
Agency Fee Payers*    
Total Members/Fee Payers 1,296  
* Agency Fee Payers are not considered members of the labor organization.

Baldemar Velasquez founded the FLOC in 1967 and was challenged for re-election as president of FLOC in September 2022 by a former FLOC VP in North Carolina, Leticia Zavala. Velasquez won re-election 135-21 in what Zavala supporters call a rigged election; they wanted the FLOC convention to be held in North Carolina so that more farm workers could participate.

Some of the delegates who voted for Velasquez were “certain non-farmworkers who have demonstrated their support” of FLOC, including 20 Velasquez family members who voted at the 2022 FLOC convention and associate members who pay $30 a year to FLOC.

When Zavala announced that she was running for president of FLOC, she and her supporters were allegedly harassed by Velasquez and eventually fired. Zavala and her supporters believe that Velasquez’s refusal to step down, and his efforts to make his relatives union leaders, puts FLOC on the same path as the UFW as an enterprise run by and for the descendants of the founder.

FLOC has a contract with the North Carolina Growers Association (NCGA), which brings H-2A workers from Mexico to North Carolina tobacco and cucumber farms. The contract covers almost 10,000 H-2A workers but, as a right-to-work state, only some of the covered workers pay 2.5 percent of their wages to FLOC in union dues.

Velasquez led a boycott and march from Ohio to Campbell’s headquarters near Philadelphia in 1983 to win a contract that recognized FLOC as the representatives of workers employed by farmers who sold cucumbers to Campbell’s, and used a similar march and boycott strategy to win a three-way agreement between Mt Olive Pickle, FLOC, and cucumber growers in North Carolina in 1999.

References

BLS. 2023. Union Members 2022.

Rural Migration News. 2019. UFW and FLOC: Income and Members.

A Contested Election Is Fracturing a Farmworkers’ Union. Civil Eats.


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