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It has been a busy year for the organized labor movement. In 2023, major strikes in the movie and television industries have brought those enterprises to a standstill when it comes to producing new content. And one of the most powerful unions in the U.S., the United Auto Workers, is planning to strike unless auto manufacturers meet their demands by the end of this month.
These assertive moves by unions can be seen as part of a larger story: workers in the U.S., post-pandemic, have sensed a shift in the balance of power between employer and employee. In the benefits world, it has been clear that employers are willing to make adjustments to find and keep quality employees, and the pandemic made it clear that even for the most basic services, the lack of workers can be devastating, not just for individual companies, but for the economy as a whole.
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Although there is much to still be worked out in this changing dynamic, it is clear that most Americans have a positive view of organized labor. A recent Gallup poll found that 67% of Americans said they approved of labor unions, a finding that is a bit lower than the 71% approval found in 2022, but a significant jump from the low point of 48% approval in 2009, following the Great Recession.
"Labor unions are enjoying a moment of high public approval and strong belief in the benefits they offer to workers, businesses, and the economy," the Gallup Poll report found. "This partly reflects the lengthy recovery from unions' extraordinarily poor image in 2009, just after the recession and less than a year after the auto industry received federal bailouts. But attitudes have more than rebounded since then."
Unions seen as helping all workers
A breakdown of the numbers in the Gallup poll finds that many Americans see unions as good for union members and non-union members alike. "A record-high 47% now believe unions help rather than hurt nonunion workers, well above the 38% saying this in 2016, which is tied for the prior high along with a 2005 [poll]," the report said. "A record-high 61% also say unions help rather than hurt the U.S. economy, eclipsing the prior high from 1999 by six points."
The poll also found that the public sees unions as being good not only for union members (77% — up 11 points since 2009), but for companies where the union members work (57%).
And 43% of those polled said they would like to see labor unions have more influence than they have today; still a minority overall but a new high for the poll, which previously found the peak for that measure at 39% in 2018.
A pro-union Administration
The changes come at a time when the Biden Administration has pushed for regulatory changes that will make it easier for employees to unionize. This article in JD Supra noted that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been busy dismantling more employer-friendly labor standards put in place by the body when it had a majority appointed by former President Trump.
And in August, the NLRB brought back standards from decades ago that makes it easier for workers to unionize. A case involving Cemex Construction Materials put in place standards allowing unions to represent workers in certain cases when a majority of workers sign cards supporting unionization, rather than requiring a formal election process.
"An administrative judge in 2021 found that Cemex had committed more than two dozen unfair labor practices including threatening, surveilling, and interrogating workers, and hiring security guards to intimidate them shortly before the election," wrote Daniel Wiessner for Reuters. "The NLRB said that moving forward, when unions request recognition based on majority support, employers must either recognize and bargain with a union or file a petition seeking an election. However, if an employer seeking an election commits unfair labor practices, the petition will be dismissed and the employer will be ordered to bargain with the union, the board said."
Although unions may be seeing more popularity and support, one fact remains: only 1 in 10 American workers belong to a union. However, the Gallup findings suggest an uptick in how Americans regard unions. And other studies have suggested that unions are especially popular among younger workers, so it's possible that union support will continue to grow.
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