Release Date: February 18, 2026

Media Contact: Shubhangi Domokos, [email protected], (916) 934-6963

California Unions Added More Than 100,000 Members in 2025

These massive gains in union membership came despite unprecedented union-busting by the Trump Administration

Sacramento, CA - (Wednesday, February 18, 2026) - California unions added 108,000 new members between 2024 and 2025, according to the latest reportfrom the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released Wednesday.

California union membership currently stands at 2.4 million members, more than any other state (New York comes in second, with 1.8 million members).

That growth is impressive enough on its own, but doubly so given that it comes at a time of an unprecedented attack on working people by the Trump Administration and his Big Tech billionaire allies.

"While Big Tech, President Trump, big corporations and the so-called 'Freedom Foundation' tried their best to destroy us, the California Labor Movement only grew stronger in 2025,"said President Lorena Gonzalez of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. "And in 2026, we're only going to keep getting stronger. Labor doesn't retreat. Labor doesn't surrender. We'll keep taking on the ultra-rich and fighting on behalf of working people."

The California Labor Movement will continue to grow, and anyone interested in unionizing their workplace is encouraged to visit our Unionize California website.

For more information, or to set up an interview with Lorena Gonzalez to discuss this growth in union membership, please contact Shubhangi Domokos, [email protected].

The California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO represents over 1,300 affiliated unions in California with over 2.3 million union members in trucking, retail, hospitality, janitorial, construction, health care, local and state government, education, arts and entertainment, warehousing and logistics, manufacturing, and a variety of other sectors.

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