Labor gains: Union approval in U.S. hits highest mark in nearly half-century, Gallup says

Some 71% of Americans now say they approve of the job that labor unions are doing, according to a new Gallup poll, continuing to climb after decades of decline and registering the highest mark since the Johnson administration.

Gallup reported Tuesday that this year’s approval rating is up from 68% last year and 64% in 2019, the last time it asked the question before the COVID-19 pandemic. The 71% mark was last reached in 1965, when organized labor claimed the allegiance of a far higher share of the American workforce.

While Americans’ approval of labor unions has trended upward since 2010, the pollster noted it has “increased further” during the pandemic as several unions have gained a higher profile and workplace stresses intensified.

“The low unemployment rate that developed during the pandemic altered the balance of power between employers and employees, creating an environment fostering union membership that has resulted in the formation of unions at several high-profile companies,” Gallup reported.

This year’s approval jump follows recent high-profile union wins in negotiations with such major companies as Amazon, Apple and Starbucks.

According to the poll, only 16% of Americans belong to a union household, compared to 84% of Americans who say they are not union members, roughly in line with numbers since the start of the century, the company said.

Since Gallup started polling the issue in 1963, approval for labor unions hit a high of 75% from 1953 to 1957 and a low of 48% in 2009.

The company also noted that the National Labor Relations Board reported a 57% increase in union election petitions filed during the first six months of the 2021 fiscal year.

Gallup conducted the randomized national telephone survey of 1,006 adults on Aug. 1-23. The margin of error for all respondents was plus or minus 1.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.