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State of the Union: 60 percent of NYC union workers are minority

September 4, 2013 Associated Press

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A new study shows that New York City’s unionized workers are mostly minorities and women.

It found that 60 percent of all union members identify themselves as either black or Latino. Women who don’t identify themselves as either make up an additional 17 percent of the city’s union members.

White males make up only 23 percent of the membership.

According to The New York Times, the decline of manufacturing in the city and a sharp drop in unionization in the private sector are some of the reasons for the decline of white union members.

The study was done by Ruth Milkman, a sociology professor at the CUNY Graduate Center, and colleague Stephanie Luce.

Milkman says mayoral candidates seeking union support need to understand the shifting demographics of their members.