As a response to falling membership, labor unions turned to merging with each other in the 1980s and 1990s. Small unions merged with larger unions to gain access to huge financial and organizational resources. Large unions benefited from mergers because they bought in new dues-paying members. Today the highest rates of union membership are found in the Northeast, Midwest, and Pacific regions. States with a high rate of union membership are states with union shops. Click on Charts and Maps below for additional information about union membership.