WASHINGTON (AP) - Membership in the United Auto Workers union has fallen 7 percent during the past year to more than 431,000 workers, a government report says.
A report filed with the Labor Department says the union lost more than 30,000 members. The UAW had fewer than 500,000 members in 1941 but boosted its membership beyond 1 million by 1945.
UAW membership peaked in 1979 at 1.5 million members.
The union has been hard hit by plant closings and job cuts by Detroit’s automakers.
Union officials, however, say membership levels cited by the Labor Department give a false impression of the union’s size. They say the UAW represents more than 500,000 members.
