News: 13.2% of healthcare workers unionized with nurses at highest level of unionization, study finds

Union membership or coverage was reported by 13.2% of healthcare workers, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found, with no significant change in unionization level from 2009 to 2021. Nurses were found to have the highest level of unionization, at 17.5%. Physicians and dentists (9.8%) and technicians and support staff (9.9%) reported the lowest level of unionization, HealthLeaders reported.

Data for the study was collected from more than 14,000 U.S. healthcare workers. Key highlights of the data include the following:

• Compared to nonunionized healthcare workers, unionization was associated with higher weekly earnings ($1,165 vs. $1,042), higher likelihood of having a pension or other retirement benefits (57.9% vs. 43.4%), and having full premium-covered health insurance (22.2% vs. 16.5%)
•  Asian, Black, and Hispanic healthcare workers were more likely to be unionized when compared to White healthcare workers
• Healthcare workers living in metropolitan areas were more likely to be unionized
• Compared to nonunionized healthcare workers, unionized workers reported more weekly work hours (37.4 versus 36.3)
• Older healthcare workers were significantly more likely to be unionized than younger healthcare workers: 15 to 29 years old (8.6%), 30 to 44 years old (14.0%), 45 to 59 years old (15.2%), and 60 years old and older (14.5%)

“Reported union membership or coverage was significantly associated with higher weekly earnings and better noncash benefits,” the study’s co-authors wrote, “but greater number of weekly work hours.”

Editor’s note: To read HealthLeaders’ coverage of this topic, click here. To read the full JAMA study, click here.