Public Perceptions of Unions

Abstract

the Gallup Poll reported a significant drop in the favorability rating for labor unions among Americans. Fewer than half those polled, 48 percent, approved of labor unions, down from 59 percent in 2008. 1 The rating also represented the lowest level since Gallup began asking as part of its annual Work and Education Survey, "Do you approve or disapprove of labor unions?" in 1936, one year after the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, which granted most private-sector employees in the United States the right to join unions and engage in collective bargaining. In 1936, 72 percent of Americans approved of unions, and only 20 percent disapproved. 2 The approval rating remained between 60 percent and 70 percent until 1979, with a drop to 55 percent in 1979, the previous low level. 3 The poll revealed a sentiment being felt by unionists at the time that the economic downturn had created anger and fear among the public that was at times being directed at union workers.In the United States, this was most noticeable in the dialogue around the hardships facing American automakers and the subsequent government loans to General Motors and Chrysler. It was common to hear news commentators or people on the streets blaming the high wages and Cadillac benefit packages of the UAW-represented autoworkers for the problems of the industry. 4 The less-than-positive public sentiment captured by the 2009 Gallup Poll continued into 2011, as battles over public-sector workers and their rights to collective bargaining developed in a number of states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, and Missouri. A slew of Republican governors introduced legislation that would limit the rights of publicsector employees with the justification that budgetary problems demanded it. The problems were again blamed on workers and their unions.Labor-focused academics and practitioners began to question the root of this shift in public opinion, and at the 2011 United Association for Labor Education Conference, two panels were organized with papers addressing the public's perceptions of labor unions. This special issue presents four of these papers, representing a diversity of approaches to the topic. The authors come from the fields of industrial relations, business, and labor education. Their studies utilize international survey data, intensive case studies, economic data analysis, and pedagogical modeling.Three articles include countries outside the United States and serve to expand our look at public perceptions of unions beyond the U.S. model. Givan and Hipp use the

Expressing Confidence in Unions in Quebec and the Other Canadian Provinces: Similarities and Contrasts in Findings

“…Since then, however, with the exception of a few contributions (e.g. Boris, 2012;Frangi and Memoli, 2013;, the analysis of public opinion regarding unions has been downplayed. The industrial relations debate needs to revive its interest in public opinion analysis, since both the actual and perceived effects of unions are important with regard to the social legitimacy and sustainability of unions (Clark, 2000).…”

Attitudes towards trade unions in Malta

“…For example, research carried out in Taiwan concludes that 'support for stronger unions rose markedly between 2000 and 2005, expressing a higher awareness of the role of unions in labour relations, especially in the context of economic crisis or lower economic growth' (Chang and Chang, 2010: 64). On the other hand, Bielski Boris (2012) argued that recent drops in favourability ratings for trade unions in the USA were related to difficulties in the private and public employment sectors that were blamed by the media, politicians and the general public on workers and their unions.…”

Are strikes still a tool for union action? A qualitative investigation into the private sector in Quebec, Canada

“…The Thomas theorem of sociology (Thomas and Thomas, 1928), which states that individuals’ behaviours can be explained by their perception of reality (rather than the reality itself), suggests, moreover, that these perceptions, whether true or wrong, complete or partial, have real consequences on the decisions made on collective action. In this respect, several studies suggest that public opinion has become a decisive factor in union action, and is even perceived as a barometer for gauging the legitimacy of pressure tactics (Boris, 2012).…”