Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Labor Unions: Good for Workers, Not for U.S. Competitiveness

Business Ratings Also Near Historic Low

February 17, 2011

The favorability ratings for labor unions remain at nearly their lowest level in a quarter century with 45% expressing a positive view. Yet the public expresses similar opinions about business corporations -- 47% have a favorable impression -- and this rating is also near a historic low.

Americans express mixed views of the impact of labor unions on salaries and working conditions, international competitiveness, job availability and productivity.

About half (53%) say unions have had a positive effect on the salaries and benefits of union workers, while just 17% say they have had a negative effect. Views are similar about the impact of unions on working conditions for all workers (51% positive, 17% negative).

But as many say unions have a negative effect as a positive effect on workplace productivity and on the availability of good jobs in America. And more say that unions have a negative (36%) rather than positive (24%) impact on the ability of U.S. companies to compete internationally.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Feb. 2-7 among 1,385 adults, finds virtually no differences in opinions about private and public sector unions.

About half (48%) say they have a favorable opinion of unions that represent workers at private companies, while 37% have an unfavorable view. The figures are nearly identical for unions that represent people who work for state or local governments -- 48% have a favorable impression of these unions while 40% have an unfavorable opinion.

A previous Pew Research survey on proposals for balancing state budgets found more support for decreasing the pension plans of state government employees than for cutting programs or raising taxes. Even so, only about half (47%) favored decreasing government employee pensions to balance their state's budget; an identical percentage said their state should not do this. (See "Fewer Want Spending to Grow, But Most Cuts Remain Unpopular," Feb. 10, 2011.)

The new survey finds there has been little change since the mid-1990s in public support for labor unions in disputes with businesses. Currently, 43% say that when they hear of such a disagreement, their first reaction is to side with businesses; about the same number (40%) say their first reaction is to side with the unions. In 1995, the balance of opinion was similar (43% side with businesses, 36% side with unions).

Opinions also are divided when people are asked for initial reaction to a disagreement between unions and state and local governments: 44% say that when they hear of such a dispute they side with unions, compared with 38% who say they side with governments.

In general, Americans do not believe that union agreements give union workers unfair advantages over other workers. Slightly more than half (55%) say that labor agreements ensure that union workers are treated fairly, while only about a third (34%) say the agreements give union workers unfair advantages.

Government data show that labor unions have become less of a factor in the overall U.S. economy in recent decades -- most notably in the private sector. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 11.9% of wage and salary workers in the United States belonged to unions in 2010. That is down slightly from the 12.3% in 2009, but much lower than the 20.1% that belonged to unions in 1983, the first year when comparable data are available. BLS also reports that now more public sector workers belong to a union than do private sector workers.

Continue reading the full report and the topline questionnaire findings at people-press.org.