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NEWS
W.Va. union numbers fall by half since 1983
CHARLESTON -- Workers in West Virginia were about half as likely to belong to a union in 2007 as they were in 1983.
The percentage of workers represented by union contracts dropped from 28.5 percent in 1983 to 14.7 percent two years ago.
By comparison, the percentage of U.S. workers who belonged to a union dropped from 23.3 percent in 1983 to 13.3 percent.
Since 1983, West Virginia's work force has shifted from manufacturing, mining and construction to more service-related fields, such as retail, health care and child care.
The percentage of union workers dropped as jobs with steel, aluminum, chemical and glass plants disappeared.
