BY STEVEN ALLEN ADAMS, West Virginia Watchdog

Over a quarter of state and local government employees in West Virginia are part of public sector unions according to a new report from the Cato Institute in Washington D.C.

The report, which appeared in Cato’s Tax & Budget Bulletin, shows that pubic sector unions have overtaken private sector unions in membership, accounting for nearly half of the nation’s union membership.

In 2009, 39 percent of state and local workers were members of unions, which was more than five times the share in the private sector of 7 percent. About two-thirds of government fire department and education workers are members of unions. If you include federal workers, the public sector accounts for more than half of all union members in the nation.

West Virginia ranks 27th in the nation for public sector union size. Only 27 percent of state and local public sector employees are union members, compared to 73 percent in New York and 8 percent in North Carolina.

The report goes on to show that public sector unions continue to receive better wages, salaries, and benefits than their private sector counterparts.

The largest public-sector unions are the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the Service Employees International Union. These organizations have more than 7 million members combined, and they are very well financed. The NEA and AFT, for example, collect about $2 billion a year in member dues and fees, most of which is from jurisdictions with agency shop rules.

You can read the full report from Chris Edwards, Cato’s Director of Tax Policy Studies, below:
Public-Sector Unions

Read our recent reports on public sector union growth:

• WatchBlog: Deficit, Public Sector Grows Under Stimulus

• WatchBlog: Stimulating Education

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