Facing South: “Labor unions added 166,000 workers in 13 Southern states in 2025, with Georgia registering the biggest gains: 62,000 more union members than in 2024. Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia also saw small increases.
Southern states continue to lag significantly — about 4.9% of workers in the South belong to a union, vs. 12.7% in the rest of the country.
The numbers also don’t include the UAW’s historic 2024 union election at Volkswagen’s plant in Tennessee, whose contract wasn’t ratified until February 2026. Labor unrest is at its highest level in more than two decades: each year from 2023–2025, there were 30+ work stoppages involving 1,000+ people, including Starbucks Workers United strikes in six Southern states.”