Union membership in the US increased by 411,000 members in 2025, marking the largest rise since 2008. This uptick follows years of decline, according to a new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The report highlights that most of these gains were concentrated in states that protect collective bargaining. States with such protections saw an increase of nearly 305,000 union members in 2025, compared to approximately 107,000 in "right-to-work" states.
Union membership rates in states with collective bargaining protections were nearly triple those in the 26 states with "right-to-work" laws, which allow workers to benefit from collectively bargained agreements without paying union dues. Researchers found that labor unions raise average wages by 8% nationally.
Frank Manzo IV, an economist at ILEPI and co-author of the report, stated that "More Americans are turning to unions as a bulwark against the rising cost of living." The wage gap between workers in states with protections versus those without more than doubled over the past decade, from 3.2% in 2015 to 6.7% in 2025.