Density of Membership

Density of Membership Definition

Density of membership is a measure, used especially in the study of labor unions, of how fully a body has recruited the people it could potentially represent. It is calculated by dividing the actual number of members by the potential number of members and multiplying by 100 to express the result as a percentage.

Why It Matters

The value of the measure is that it gauges how powerful a union is in relation to employers. The higher the density, the greater the union’s bargaining power, because a larger share of the relevant workforce is organized. A closed shop — where union membership is a condition of employment — has 100 percent density. Density therefore serves as an indicator of the potential effectiveness of a labor union.