new report Alabama saw its union membership increase for the second year in a row in 2023, according to research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As of 2023, 156,000 of Alabama's 2,088,000 workers were union members, according to the BLS report. This is an increase of 7,000 people compared to 2022, when 149,000 of the 2,066,000 workers were union members.

There was also an increase in the number of workers whose jobs were covered by a union, but who were not members themselves. In 2023 he had 180,000 workers in unions, up from 173,000 in 2022.

Alabama remains a low percentage of union membership per state compared to the national average of 10 percent. But Alabama's union membership rate, currently at 7.5 percent, is higher than surrounding southern states like Georgia and Florida.

The report was released shortly after workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa announced a movement to join the United Auto Workers union (UAW). In response, Gov. Kay Ivey published an op-ed opposing unionization, arguing that the efforts of Tuscaloosa workers were the work of outside “special interests.”

Ivey and the Republican supermajority oppose unions. But the latest data from the BLS and efforts by Alabama workers seem to indicate they believe unionizing is beneficial to them.