64% of Americans approve of labor unions, according to a recent Gallup poll. That's a five-year high, and the third-highest approval number since 1970. However, actual union membership rates are relatively low.
Labor unions seem to be a critical topic right now. Teachers, medical professionals, digital media employees and e-commerce workers have all entered the national conversation in recent months, either for their attempts to unionize or their calls to strengthen workers' rights.
The blood and sweat behind Labor DayIn theory, their demands are well supported by the American public. According to a recent Gallup poll, 64% of Americans approve of labor unions. That's a five-year high, and the third-highest approval number since 1970. However, actual union membership rates are relatively low. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals the general union membership rate for 2018 was 10.5%, which is about even with the numbers from 2017.
Teacher: 'I'm not being as effective as I could be' 01:00The continued growth of Amazon has sparked several labor concerns in recent months. The retail behemoth's plan to offer one-day delivery sparked an intense debate with the leader of a major workers' union who argued such demands could put workers in danger if Amazon didn't increase their staffing to match the new workflow.
Protests and competitors take aim at Amazon Prime Day 02:35So is the newsWhile Younis says the major factor of Americans' view of labor unions seems to be the economy, he says the prevalence of labor stories in the news could also play a part, as does one's proximity to labor unions and their issues.
This is how hard it is to find workers for a dairy farm 01:15There's one more wrinkle in the tricky relationship between labor activity and people's views of it. Younis says that while union membership is generally not related to party affiliation, those with pro-labor views are likely to view unions more favorably if they are being undermined in some way. "People will react to a lot of these very politicized terms and institutions," he says.
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