Public approval of unions has been increasing steadily in recent years, and according to the latest annual Gallup poll it’s now at its highest level since 1965. The question Gallup keeps asking is: “Do you approve or disapprove of labor unions?” This year, 71% said they approve.
Union support was highest in the 1950s, when three in four Americans said they approved, but declined gradually, reaching a low point of 48% in 2009, the only time it’s ever dipped below 50%.
That follows another Gallup poll in June of union members themselves. Asked “How important is union membership to you?” on a scale of 1 to 5, 40% said 5, “extremely important” and another 28% said 4, while only 10% said 1, “not important at all.” The poll wasn’t all “bread and roses” for labor though: Of nonunion workers, 58% said they are “not interested at all” in joining a union.
