BY CLYDE
WEISS
Six out of every 10 Americans now supports labor unions – a phenomenal five-point jump over the previous year. That’s the latest from a Gallup poll released this week showing that during the past year, Americans’ approval of unions skyrocketed to its highest point in seven years.
Americans are seeing the
connection between unions and balancing the economy, allowing
workers to come together to build a better life for their families. Overall,
Gallup found that support for labor unions is now at an impressive 58 percent,
a rise of 5 percentage points since 2008. A Business Insider headline
Tuesday put it simply: ‘Americans want unions.’
That swelling support is spurred by unions like AFSCME (American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees) doubling down on their organizing efforts, having one-on-one conversations with
working people across the country about the value of a union.
Even employees at non-traditional workplaces are getting in on the action, seeing how unions bring a voice on the job, improve incomes, and help achieve real work-life balance, making it possible to say, take a day off if a child falls ill. In recent months, the staffs at digital media sites like Gawker and Slate voted to unionize.
That the staffs at those two unions tend to be younger and
supportive of unions follows suit with Gallup’s findings. According to the
poll, those ages 18-34 are most supportive of labor unions. A whopping 66
percent of this group views labor unions favorably.
It’s a trend demonstrated in other recent polling, such as a
survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.
Support for labor unions grew
among various groups in recent years, including millennials who are
politically conservative, and women, whose approval of labor unions
is 63 percent – spurred in part by the understanding that collective bargaining is
the best way to close the gender pay gap.
Gallup has taken the nation’s pulse and their conclusion is
that a “solid majority approve of unions, and most would like to see unions’
power strengthened, or at least maintained.”
Learn more about how a strong labor movement can improve the middle class and
how the momentum in favor of strong unions is catching the public eye.