Do more people belong to unions in Chicago than elsewhere?

I did a little research. The folks who mostly belong to unions in Chicago are lead by either the Chicago Teachers Union (not a friend of children...total scum) or government agencies. So these folks get to make more money than their private sector equivalents in return for drumming up votes for the Chicago Political Machine.

Sorry. That sounded a little cynical (& of course accurate).

Largest Union Employers in Chicago (Ranked by Number of Workers)

1. Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

• Total Employees: ~44,000 (as of 2024)

2. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)

• Total Employees: ~10,000+ union workers

3. City of Chicago Government

• Union Employees: Thousands (estimate approx 30,000) across multiple bargaining units (exact total unclear)

• Major Unions:

  • AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)

  • Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge No. 7

  • Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local No. 2

  • Laborers' Union

• The city has over 40 collective bargaining agreements covering various employee groups

4. SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana

• Members Represented: ~27,000 home care workers and child care providers

5. United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners - Mid-America Carpenters Regional (Local 4275)

6. International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 150

7. International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 399

• Members: ~10,000+ working men and women in Illinois and Northwest Indiana

Cultural workers organize for better pay, benefits

Axios News

Unionized workers at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ratified their first contract this month. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Several Chicago cultural institutions have unionized over recent years, tracking with the national trend of Americans' growing support of labor unions over the last decade.

Why it matters: These attractions help make Chicago a global destination for tourists. Workers have traditionally been paid low hourly wages and often don't have benefits like health insurance.

Organizing seeks to contractually guarantee better work conditions.

State of play: Since 2021, workers at the Art Institute of Chicago and School of the Art Institute, MCA, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Newberry Library and Chicago History Museum have organized with AFSCME Council 31.

The latest: Eligible staff at Adler Planetarium voted last week to join AFSCME. Plus, workers at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ratified their first contract this month, with an average 8% pay increase and an increase in the starting wage floor to $18 an hour.

Flashback: The national AFSCME Cultural Workers United launched after the start of the pandemic, as workers were laid off or furloughed in the wake of COVID workplace closures.