News In Brief

US union membership dips below 20 million

Union membership in the US has plummeted, a report by the Bureau of National Affairs said Monday, dipping below 20 million for the first time since measurement began in 1968.

Meanwhile, the United Steelworkers of America, meeting in Cleveland, pledged its support for Walter Mondale. The new report ranks the steelworkers as the largest member union of the AFL-CIO, with 1.2 million members. Nevertheless, many of its members were unemployed in 1982, the BNA noted. The steelworkers are facing their largest membership decline since the Great Depression.