Majority of Americans support unions, striking workers
- More than half of Americans support unions
- In specific labor disputes, there is strong support for striking workers
- A record 43% say unions should have more influence in the country
FILE -Picketers pass near a studio entrance during a Writers Guild rally outside Warner Bros. Studios, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Burbank, Calif. As a strike drags on, about 1,000 Hollywood writers and their supporters have marched and rallied in Los Angeles for a new contract with studios that includes the payment guarantees and job security they say they deserve. Speakers at Wednesday’s event on June 21, emphasized the solidarity the Writers Guild of America has received from other unions. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
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(NewsNation) — The majority of Americans support unions and favor workers over companies when it comes to strikes, according to new data.
Gallup polling found over the past decades, American support for unions has grown, as has the desire to see unions have more influence on the country. The support comes amid major strikes in the entertainment industry as well as a narrowly averted strike from UPS workers. Workers in the automobile industry have also authorized a strike if the union can’t come to an agreement with car manufacturers.
When it comes to overall support, 67% of Americans said they support unions, the fifth year in a row that support has exceeded the long-term average of 62%. It’s a big recovery from the all-time low of 48% after the Great Recession in 2009. Still, it’s not the highest level of support. In the 1950s, approval for unions reached 75%.
Americans also view unions as providing a benefit to the overall economy, with a record 61% of Americans saying unions brought a net benefit. In terms of workers, 77% believe unions help their members rather than hurt them and 47% percent say unions help non-union workers as well. As for businesses, 57% of Americans thought unions helped the companies their employers worked for.
Close to half of Americans, 43%, say unions should have more influence in the U.S., not less. That’s significantly higher than a record low of 25% in 2009 and a jump from the previous high of 39% in 2017 and 2018.
When it comes to political affiliation, Democrats were more likely to support unions and Republicans less so, with independents falling in the middle. However, support for unions has grown since 2009 across the political spectrum.
When it comes to specific strikes, respondents also sided with union workers rather than their employers.
In the entertainment industry, members of the Writers Guild of America have been striking since May and members of the Screen Actors Guild have been striking since July after negotiations regarding streaming rights and royalties broke down. According to Gallup, 72% of Americans support the WGA and 67% support striking SAG members.
The potential auto workers strike also had broad support from the public. United Auto Workers members authorized a strike as they continued to negotiate with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis over compensation. A full 75% of Americans said they support a possible UAW strike.
