DETROIT, MI (AP)-- A filing with the U.S. Department of Labor shows the United Auto Workers' membership grew by nearly 9,000 people last year.
UAW's membership in 2013 was 391,415, compared to 382,513 in 2012. The union has been steadily adding members since 2009, when General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy.
The auto industry has recovered from the bottom five years ago, but the UAW still faces many challenges.
Dues collected, which are the union's main source of income, have fallen more than 40 percent since 2006. And membership is a fraction what it was in 1979, when the UAW had 1.5 million members.
The union also failed in February to rally enough support to organize Volkswagen's factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee even with the passive support of Volkswagen's management.