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SUPPORT FOR LABOR UNIONS NEAR HISTORIC HIGH  
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Jon Queally
August 29, 2025
Common Dreams
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_ "Working people want unions and the numbers prove it," says one
labor leader. "While billionaires and their yes-men in Congress try to
slash wages, gut health care, and silence working people, we are
fighting back. _

Starbucks union members and their supporters, including baristas who
have just walked off the job, effectively closing a local branch,
picket in front of the store, February 28, 2025 in New York City.,
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

 

A new poll reveals that Americans continue to support organized labor
at historic levels, even as the Trump administration and its
Republican allies in Congress take a battering ram to union rights and
the nation's working class.

Gallup's annual survey, released
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Thursday, shows more than two-thirds of people in the US (68%) approve
of labor unions and the economic security and prosperity they provide
working families. The popular support matches record-high numbers of
recent years after a long decline from the 1960s through the early
2000s.

As Gallup notes:

When Gallup first measured Americans’ ratings of labor unions in
1936, 72% approved. Approval reached the record high, 75%, in 1953 and
1957 and ranged between 63% and 73% from 1958 through 1967. Then, from
1972 through 2016, approval was lower, with few readings over 60%,
including the 48% all-time low recorded in 2009. This was the only
time approval fell below the majority level. Since 2017, approval has
been above 60%, the longest period at this level since the 1960s.

"Working people want unions and the numbers prove it," said Lee
Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME), in response to the latest polling.

The survey shows sharp partisan divides despite the overall approval
of organized labor. While 90% of Democrats surveyed and 69% of
independents voiced support, only 41% of Republicans expressed the
same level of support for organized workers and their unions. "All
party groups show increased support for unions compared with 2016,"
said Gallup, "though Republican support has declined since peaking at
56% in 2022. That was the only time Republicans’ approval has risen
above 50% in the past 25 years."

A new poll reveals that Americans continue to support organized labor
at historic levels, even as the Trump administration and its
Republican allies in Congress take a battering ram to union rights and
the nation's working class.
"Working people want unions and the numbers prove it," said Lee
Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME), in response to the latest polling.

The survey shows sharp partisan divides despite the overall approval
of organized labor. While 90% of Democrats surveyed and 69% of
independents voiced support, only 41% of Republicans expressed the
same level of support for organized workers and their unions. "All
party groups show increased support for unions compared with 2016,"
said Gallup, "though Republican support has declined since peaking at
56% in 2022. That was the only time Republicans’ approval has risen
above 50% in the past 25 years."

"Instead of getting the respect they've earned, [working families are]
getting squeezed by CEOs and anti-worker politicians who want to hand
out tax breaks to the billionaire class at the expense of Medicaid,
food assistance, worker protections and our communities."

Saunders, like other members of the labor movement, has been a steady
voice in rebuking President Donald Trump
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Party as they run roughshod over labor rights and wage a relentless
war against the working class by attacking Medicaid, food assistance,
public education, better wages, collective bargaining, and workplace
safety—all while slashing regulatory safeguards designed to protect
America's working families from industry greed and handing out massive
tax breaks for billionaires and corporations.

"Gallup polling once again shows historically strong support, because
workers understand that they have the power to win fair pay, safer
working conditions, and dignity on the job when they organize a union.
Today, that power matters more than ever," said Saunders. "While
billionaires and their yes-men in Congress try to slash wages, gut
health care, and silence working people, we are fighting
back—organizing, mobilizing, and demanding a voice."

Despite the support of a large majority of Americans across the
political spectrum, union density remains at historic lows, which
makes sense given the hostility from both major parties
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to the needs of the working class and their fealty to represent the
interests of big business over those of working families over the last
five decades.

 

[Union Density graphic]
In his latest attack on the working class—and just ahead of the
Labor Day weekend—Trump on Thursday issued
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executive order expanding his assault on the government agencies where
federal employees would lose their collective bargaining rights.

Union members and labor experts immediately called the order
unlawful—just like the original March order upon which it was
based—and vowed to fight it tooth and nail in court.

"This is how President Trump is commemorating Labor Day: continuing
his administration's all-out attack on workers and unions," said Liz
Schuler, president of the AFL-CIO. "This new executive order once
again distorts the law by ripping away the collective bargaining
rights of federal workers in an attempt to silence their voices on the
job."

"Issuing these executive orders just days before the holiday that
honors everything working people have fought and died for—including
our right to come together with our co-workers in a union and bargain
for what we deserve—shows us that this administration's callous
disregard for workers' rights knows no bounds," added Schuler. "No
matter what it throws our way, the labor movement will never stop
organizing and fighting for each other—and we'll see him in court."

AFSCME's Saunders, suggested the polling should serve to invigorate
the labor movement, even at a time when corporate power's hold on the
levers of power seems near complete.

"We know that working families are the backbone of our economy. But
instead of getting the respect they've earned, they're getting
squeezed by CEOs and anti-worker politicians who want to hand out tax
breaks to the billionaire class at the expense of Medicaid, food
assistance, worker protections and our communities," he said. "It is
easy to see why trust in Congress and big corporations is hitting new
lows, while support for unions remains strong."

Saunders added that his union's 1.4 million members are "proud to
stand with every worker who is fighting back to demand dignity,
fairness, and a voice on the job. Because when we stand together, we
can defend our freedoms from billionaires who want to rob us of them."

Bemoaning how Republicans have been able to coopt the mantle of being
the party of the working class, all while undermining wages, workplace
safety, and the right to collectively bargain, Les Leopold, executive
director of the Labor Institute, has been among those
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warning the Democratic Party that it must change direction, or die
trying, if it wants to win back the working class.

As he wrote
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following Trump's 2024 reelection, "It's time to end this sad chapter
in U.S. history when the Democratic Party leaders refuse to be genuine
allies for workers and the Republican Party is rewarded for pretending
to be._"_

Jon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams.
 

Common Dreams is a reader-supported independent news outlet created in
1997 as a new media model.

Our nonprofit newsroom covers the most important news stories of the
moment. Common Dreams free online journalism keeps our millions of
readers well-informed, inspired, and engaged.

We are optimists. We believe real change is possible. But only if
enough well-informed, well-intentioned—and just plain fed up and
fired-up—people demand it. We believe that together we can attain
our common dreams.

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