While Americans have mixed views of unions, public sector organizing suffers setback

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While Americans have mixed views of unions, public sector organizing suffers setback The decline in the number of Americans represented by labor unions is seen more negatively than positively by U.S. adults, according to a new survey released by the Pew Research Center. Fifty-five percent of Americans have a favorable impression of unions, with a similar number—53 percent—viewing business corporations favorably. Decreasing unionization. In 2017, only 10.7 percent of wage and salaried workers in the United States were labor union members, down from 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unionization in the U.S. peaked at more than 34% in 1954, according to the Congressional Research Service. Partisanship. Fifty-one percent of Americans say the large reduction in union representation has been mostly bad for working people in the U.S., while 35 percent say it has been mostly good, the survey found. Partisanship, which has long been a major factor in public attitudes about labor unions, was also apparent in the new survey, which revealed that 68 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say the reduction in union membership has been mostly bad for working people, compared to half as many Republicans and Republican leaners, with 34 percent saying the same. Race, age, and education. The survey also found racial, age, and educational differences in assessments of the reduction in union representation: By about two-to-one, blacks are more likely to say the decline in union representation has been mostly bad for working people than that it has been mostly good (65 percent vs. 29 percent). Smaller shares of whites (49 percent) or Hispanics (52 percent) say it has been mostly bad. Adults younger than 30 are the only age group in which a majority (56 percent) says the reduction in union membership has been mostly bad for working people. Among adults 30 and older, half (50 percent) express this view. While 61 percent of adults with postgraduate degrees say the decline in union membership has been mostly bad for working people, fewer of those with less education (50 percent) view this trend negatively. Other differences. The survey broke the numbers down by several other factors such as age, education, and differences among those with similar political affiliations: Young adults continue to be more likely than older people to express a favorable opinion of labor unions. A 68 percent majority of those ages 18 to 29 hold a positive view of unions, compared with only about 51 percent of those 50 and older. Adults younger than 30 also are somewhat less likely to view businesses favorably, with fewer than half (46 percent) holding a favorable opinion of business corporations, while 47 percent hold an unfavorable view. Older Americans are more likely to be positive than negative in their views of businesses, with adults under 30 being the only age group in which a larger share has a favorable view of labor unions than of business corporations. Among educational groups, postgraduates stand out for having a more favorable opinion of labor unions (65 percent) than corporations (53 percent). Among those with less education, comparable shares express favorable views of both unions and corporations. Among Republicans and Republican leaners, nearly two-to-one (65 percent to 33 percent) of those with at least a...