Americans Gauge Union Merit
This month, the market research firm Harris Interactive surveyed 2450 adult Americans and determined that Americans have a conflicted opinion about labor unions. As explained in today’s press release, the latest Harris Poll reveals several interesting contrasting results from the survey. Even people from households with union workers are critical of some union conduct, although they are less critical than those from nonunion households.
Survey results include:
- Most Americans (including both union and nonunion) agree that unions improve wages and working conditions of workers.
- Even among union households most people believe that unions are too involved in politics: 60% in union households believe this while 72% of Americans overall believe this.
- The response to the statement “Unions work to get legislation that helps all working people, whether they are union members or not”, was divided. 55% of union households agreed while only 38% of nonunion households agreed.
- Even among union households most people do NOT believe that union members get their money’s worth for the dues they pay: 53% in union households while 63% in nonunion households believe the unions are not worth the price of member dues.
The press release states:
“This new Harris Poll shows that nationally many people are very critical of labor union activities - even among union households they are seen as being too political.”
See the press release for more results from the survey, including a table which shows the percentage of responses given to several asked questions, broken down by union and nonunion households.
