Washington, D.C. — As the Trump administration and its allies have taken steps that weaken federal labor institutions and make organizing more difficult, a new analysis from the Center for American Progress finds that adopting sectoral bargaining could more than double the share of U.S. workers covered by collective bargaining agreements. This modeling highlights how sectoral bargaining could serve as a path to rebuild worker power in America.
Sectoral bargaining sets minimum standards across an industry while still allowing workplace-level negotiations to build on those standards. Shifting from the United States’ fragmented, workplace-by-workplace bargaining system to sectoral bargaining would reshape union coverage nationwide. Such a shift would respond to widespread union support, with nearly half of workers saying they want union representation, yet union coverage remains near historic lows because U.S. laws suppress unions.
“Workers want a stronger voice on the job, but our current system of labor organizing makes it far too hard for them to get one,” said Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and co-author of the analysis. “Sectoral bargaining is a proven tool that could help close the gap between what workers want and what the current system delivers. Moreover, building union membership is an effective tool against the affordability crisis.”
CAP’s analysis finds:
- Collective bargaining coverage could more than double under sectoral bargaining. Coverage would rise from about 11 percent of workers today to roughly 29 percent under sectoral bargaining.
- Tens of millions more workers would gain representation. The number of workers covered by collective agreements would grow from about 16.5 million in 2025 to roughly 42.4 million.
- The United States currently lags behind peer nations. Countries that rely on sectoral bargaining consistently achieve much higher coverage rates than the U.S. workplace-based system.
- Higher coverage would help address inequality and wage stagnation. Research shows collective bargaining is associated with better pay, improved benefits, and a fairer distribution of economic gains.
Read the analysis: “Modeling the Impact of Sectoral Bargaining for U.S. Workers” by Jared Bernstein, Aurelia Glass, David Madland, and Daniel Posthumus.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Christian Unkenholz at [email protected].