The latest Gallup poll released last week shows pro-union sentiment among US workers continues to be surprisingly near its record high since it began surveying attitudes towards unions 90 years ago. But unlike the period before and after WW II when the industrial unions were growing and militant, today's workers expect the labour movement to decline further.
Americans strongly approve of unions (71%), only slightly less than expressed their support during the 1950's (73%-75%) and almost matching the earlier high (72%) in 1936 as the economy was recovering from the depths of the Depression. However, while a record number (49%) would like the unions to have more influence, only a small minority (27%) believe the outlook is favourable. They are not quite as pessimistic as during the heyday of neoliberalism at the turn of this century "when the figure was typically closer to 20%” but the continuing low level of working class confidence - primarily the result of job insecurity - is a deterrent to organizing, unlike the earlier periods when the economy was booming and labour was in high demand The poll also breaks down the results according to political affiliation. Not surprisingly, it found Democrats to be the most ardently pro-union (73%) with independents at 45% and Republicans trailing at 19%. The poll registered Democratic discouragement about labour’s prospects since the heady days of organizing and strike activity at Amazon and elsewhere in the aftermath of the pandemic. Only 31% of Democrats expect the unions to gain strength, down 16 points from 2023. The full survey results are at https://news.gallup.com/poll/713936/record-high-unions-influence.aspx -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#43341): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/43341 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/121154946/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
