Public Approval of Unions Hits 57-Year High, Polling Finds

New polling finds that American public approval of unions has reached its highest point since 1965 thanks to a series victories by the labor movements in the past few years.

According to a Gallup pollOn Tuesday, 71% of Americans voted for unions. This approval is the highest recorded in 57-years and is close enough to the all time high of 75 per cent recorded by Gallup in mid-1950s.

Gallup points out that while 71% is statistically similar with the 68% that Gallup recorded last year (which is statistically identical), approval of unions has been rising for over a decade. After a 2009 low, support for unions rose 23 percent.

Such support comes despite the fact that the vast majority of Americans aren’t in a labor union themselves. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)Only 10.3 per cent of workers belong to a union by 2021. Gallup’s survey shows that only 6 per cent of respondents are in a Union, while 7 percent say they live in a home with a Union member.

The work of labor organizers who have won a remarkable number in the past year could explain the high support for unions. The National Labor Relations Board, (NLRB). This summer, reportedThe number of union petitions filed in the first nine month of Fiscal Year 2022 was higher than in the whole of Fiscal Year 20201. This was due to the fact that the total number of petitions has risen by 58 per cent.

Some of these filings were prompted by high-profile union fights, such as the one that occurred against Starbucks workers. They have won over 220 union elections since launchingTheir union campaign in August last year. Workers also waged union campaigns at household-name companies such as Amazon, Trader Joe’s REI; even Congress staffersThis year, many people jumped on the union wave.

The polling shows that there is a desire among non-union workers for union membership. Forty-two percent of respondents said that they were interested in becoming a union member, with 11 percent saying that they are “extremely interested” in doing so.

Gallup says that part of the reason for the upswing in support for unions is that the “low unemployment rate that developed during the pandemic altered the balance of power between employers and employees,” perhaps empowering employeesAfter many workers felt disengaged at work during the pandemic, it was necessary to form unions.

Indeed, there’s also been an increase in the number of people quitting their jobsThis indicates that people feel empowered. take more drastic measures to seek better working conditionsBenefits. According to statistics released by BLS on Tuesday, 2.7 million people quit their jobs in July, adding to the “Great Resignation” that the labor market has seen in recent months.

However, it may be difficult for workers to join a union in current circumstances. Despite the high public support for unions, corporations are not. waging fierce anti-union campaignsto stop their workers unionizing.

Thought President Joe Biden’s NLRBFederal labor laws are more friendly to unions than those of previous administrations. There are relatively few penalties for illegal union busting. Labor activists You have called forTo strengthen labor laws, and level the playing field between employers and unionizing workers, bills like the Protecting the Right to Organize Act were passed.