The Millennial generation has been taught not to expect getting a job related to their major directly after graduation.  In fact, along with mountains of debt and their diploma, students might as well receive a nametag and apron for their local coffee shop with their degree. 

As young workers enter the workforce, in either chosen or necessary occupations, they may have their first encounters with unions.  Or not. 

Using information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual reports of union membership, the Center for Worker Freedom has compiled the membership totals of workers aged 16 – 24 from 1992 to 2015.  The graph shows a relatively steady decline in the amount of youth union membership during the past 23 years –punctuated by occasional, but temporary, spikes.

There was an especially significant drop between 1999 and 2000.  The number of members fell by 100,000, from 1,110,000 to 1,010,000.  Almost a decade later, in 2009, membership continued to decline from 813,000 to 722,000.  That’s 117,000 fewer members in just one year. 

According to the most recent BLS report, the largest age bracket for union membership in 2015 was between 45 and 65.  Only 800,000 union members, or 4.4 percent, are under the age of 25.      

So why are younger generations less likely to be union members?  One contributing factor might be the increasing popularity of right-to-work legislation.  Right-to-work laws give workers the freedom to choose whether or not they want to become a union member, including young workers.

Another answer to the decline of youth in union membership is the Millennial Generation itself.  Millennials might be facing financial setbacks, but are continually getting involved with starting up their own businesses.  The Millennial trend towards entrepreneurship is very exciting.  It’s also very different from more traditional, unionized career paths.