One might think with all the union-bashing in corporate media, Faux News, multiple levels of government, and the general rhetoric, that unions are decidedly unpopular among Americans as a whole. Right?
According to a recent study by Pew Research, wrong. It's actually a lot stronger than some would think.
Here are a few highlights:
A very slight, 45-43 plurality--most likely within the margin of error--of Americans believe that "the large reduction in [the] share of unionized workers over the past 20 years has been mostly bad for the country." The opinion of its negative impact on workers themselves is stronger.
But maybe the surveyed people just had a moment of sympathy? America hates unions, right?
Wrong.
Note how, tracing back for 30 years, all but a few time periods showed a clear break in favor of unions. Most politicians with a favorable-unfavorable split of 48-39, I believe, would be pretty comfortable about their chances of reelection.
Well so much for the hatred of schoolteachers' unions! And on that note, the partisan breakdown on that question reveals even more surprising results:
I don't know about you, but when I saw that 54% of Republicans--
Republicans--favor allowing teachers to unionize, I was blown away. And it would be hard to check the numbers against other polls, because there aren't many other polls out there asking these same questions. But remember, this is the Pew Research we're talking about--traditionally a very reliable source. So there's no real reason to think that these numbers aren't stretched. Bottom line--the support for unions, even among Republicans--has been and continues to be solid. And it may be due for a long-term increase:
And what about Americans' love of big corporations? Guess what, that isn't as strong as one might think. And we're starting to get over our 20th-century love affair of big corporations, too:
So keep this in the back of your mind the next time you overhear Faux News, CNN, or some idiot in a comments section blathering about the supposed unpopularity of unions in the United States. Because it's just not true. It is the strength of unions, not the popularity of unions, that has been taken away. More Americans like unions than the anti-unionists would have you believe. And that number is growing.