Most people in the U.S.—71 percent—approve of labor unions, the highest approval rating recorded on this measure since 1965, according to a recent survey from Gallup. Nevertheless, most nonunion workers don't want to join the labor movement, according to another survey. We've gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other media outlets.
Steady Rise in Approval in the Public
The latest approval figures, reflected in a survey released in August, come amid a burst of 2022 union victories across the country. Support for labor unions reached its peak in the 1950s, while support for them has dipped below 50 percent only once, in 2009. Support has grown in the 13 years since then.
Nonetheless, in a separate survey conducted in June, most nonunion workers in the U.S.—58 percent—said they are "not interested at all" in joining a union, while only 11 percent of nonunion workers are "extremely interested."
Engagement among workers in unions was lower—27 percent—than among nonunion workers, which was at 33 percent, according to the June survey.
Union membership is highest among front-line and production workers, of whom one in five are union members. About one in 10 workers in health care and social assistance (13 percent), white-collar positions (11 percent), and administrative and clerical roles (10 percent) are union members.
(Gallup)
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