MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – The number of Vermont workers who belong to labor unions is holding steady, bucking a longtime national trend.

Last year about 9.8 percent of the state’s workers were in labor unions. In 1999, when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began issuing state-by-state numbers, 9.7 percent of Vermont’s workers were union members.

The most dramatic growth in union membership is in government jobs and for teachers.

In 1976 the Vermont chapter of the National Education Association had 5,600 members. It has since increased during every year but one, and now has roughly 11,000 members.

“Our union membership continues to grow,” said President Angelo Dorta. “We are doing well.”

In part, that is because the NEA has expanded its membership among support staff such as secretaries and teaching assistants.

The Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO, which has about 13,500 members in Vermont, has managed to replace many of its manufacturing members by organizing workers in other areas like clerical employees and the nursing staff at Fletcher Allen Health Center, said the organization’s president Dan Brush.

“It’s hard to go out and find a job that pays $15 an hour with health insurance,” Brush said. “We have lost so many jobs to trade; we have taken a huge hit in recent years.”

Union membership nationwide patterns Vermont where gains are being made in the unionization of governmental workers while the percentage of private company employees in labor federations has dropped.

Vermont has seen an even quicker increase in the number and percent of government workers who are in unions. In 1980, there were 6,000 eligible state workers, and Vermont State Employees Association had about 3,200 members. Now, there are 7,300 eligible workers and 6,000 union members, according to the organization.