The National Labor Relations Board had 58% more union election petitions in the first nine months of 2022 compared with the same time frame the year before. However, labor unionization among healthcare workers has remained low,according to a study published Dec. 27 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers used data from the US Census Bureau-sponsored Current Population Survey and Annual Social and Economic Supplement to identify a study population. Five groups of healthcare workers (physicians and dentists, advanced practitioners, nurses, therapists and technicians and support staff) were categorized based on occupational codes. Researchers then examined self-reported labor union coverage among US healthcare workers throughout the 2009-2021 study period. Unionized healthcare workers were defined as those who reported labor union membership or being covered by a union although not a member.
The cross-sectional study of 14,298 healthcare workers revealed that the prevalence of reported labor unionization was 13.2%, with no significant change from 2009 through 2021.
The data showed that labor unionization significantly correlated with better pay and benefits compared with the pay and benefits of healthcare workers for whom union membership was not an option. Unionized healthcare workers were more likely to report having a pension or other retirement benefits at work than nonunionized workers.
The researchers noted, however, that compared with nonunionized workers, healthcare workers who were unionized reported more weekly work hours.
According to the data, unionization varied slightly among healthcare workers in different age groups. For instance, union membership was 8.6% for those aged 15 to 29 compared with 14% for those aged 30 to 44, 15.2% for those aged 45 to 59 and 14.5% for those aged 60 or more.
No significant difference in healthcare worker unionization was seen between the sexes. Data showed that 13.4% of men were unionized compared with 13.1% of women.
Geography appeared to play a role in labor unionization of healthcare workers. The Northeast and West regions of the county reported 21.5% and 20.7% unionization for healthcare workers, respectively, whereas the Midwest and South had far lower numbers. According to the study results, 11.4% of healthcare workers in the Midwest and 5.2% of healthcare workers in the South are in unions.
Additionally, healthcare workers living in metropolitan areas also were more likely to report being unionized than those in rural areas, at 14% and 8.3%, respectively.
