After several years of steady growth, some indicators still point to sustained union success. Election win rates remain high, hovering near 80%. When unions reach the ballot, they generally continue to perform well.
At the same time, other measures — including fewer workers newly organized — tell a different story.
Taken together, the organizing environment is neither collapsing nor expanding in a straight line. It is recalibrating toward more selective campaigns.
Unusually favorable conditions fueled the post-pandemic surge in union organizing. Tight labor markets increased worker leverage, public approval of unions rose, and employees were more willing to test collective solutions to workplace problems.
By 2025, those conditions had shifted. A cooling job market reduced employees’ appetite for risk.
More importantly, the organizing strategy changed. Rather than pushing for scale across industries, unions increasingly concentrated their efforts. Fewer campaigns moved forward, and those that did were narrower in scope and more selective in target.
According to various data services, in 2025, the number of union representation elections declined by roughly 30% year over year. That marked the lowest level of election activity since 2021.
Union wins declined by nearly 27% year over year, and the number of workers newly organized through National Labor Relations Board elections dropped by approximately 38%, to approximately 66,000 nationwide.
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