CRER director Howard Wall commented on the reasons why union membership in Tennessee might have fallen 20 percent in just a year’s time:
Looking at the numbers, Wall said fewer jobs in highly unionized industries — such as government service or manufacturing — could lead to a decline in the overall rate of unionization. Last year, Tennessee had relatively flat growth in manufacturing employment. However, that can’t explain the size of the change between 2023 and 2024.
There could also be anomalies in state-level data, Wall said, noting the sample size for the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ survey is good for measuring nationwide changes but could grow less reliable on a state-by-state basis. The shift in Tennessee may not be as dramatic as it appears.