Majorities of adults see decline of union membership as bad for the U.S. and working people
The share of U.S. workers who belonged to a union in 2024 stood at 9.9%, down from 1983 when 20.1% of American workers were union members.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Key facts about union members and the 2024 election
About six-in-ten voters who belong to a union identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while about four-in-ten associate with the GOP.
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From Businesses and Banks to Colleges and Churches: Americans’ Views of U.S. Institutions
Americans overwhelmingly see small businesses as having a positive effect on the way things are going in the country. By contrast, their views of large corporations are broadly negative. And most people – including identical shares in both parties – are critical of the impact of banks and financial institutions.
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2023 saw some of the biggest, hardest-fought labor disputes in recent decades
The nearly four-month actors’ strike against major Hollywood production studios was the second-largest labor dispute in the United States in at least three decades.
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About one-in-six U.S. journalists at news outlets are part of a union; many more would join one if they could
41% of U.S. journalists who are employed at least part time at a news outlet say they would join a union if it were available to them.
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Majorities of Americans say unions have a positive effect on U.S. and that decline in union membership is bad
A narrow majority of Americans continue to say labor unions have a positive effect on the way things are going in the United States.
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Amazon vote comes amid recent uptick in U.S. unionization rate
Union membership has had a somewhat unexpected – but likely temporary – turnaround amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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More Americans view long-term decline in union membership negatively than positively
The number of Americans represented by labor unions has decreased substantially since the 1950s, and a new survey finds that the decline is seen more negatively than positively by U.S. adults. The survey also finds that 55% of Americans have a favorable impression of unions, with about as many (53%) viewing business corporations favorably.
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Job categories where union membership has fallen off most
The American public’s generally favorable view of labor unions hasn’t stopped, or even slowed, union membership’s long decline.
