Poll: Approval of labor unions at highest point since 1965

Sixty-eight percent of Americans approve of labor unions. Though statistically similar to last year’s 65%, the current reading is the highest Gallup has measured since 71% in 1965…

Approval has increased among nearly all major demographic subgroups since 2016. One exception is labor union members, whose approval has been no lower than 75% since 2001. Currently, 86% of union members approve of unions, down from the recent high of 93% in 2019.

In addition to union members, approval is relatively high among young adults aged 18-34 (77%) and those with annual household incomes under $40,000 (72%).

Democrats are the most approving of unions. Their latest approval of 90% is the highest it has been in the past two decades and is up seven points since last year. At the same time, Republicans’ (47%) and independents’ (66%) approval is essentially unchanged. Each partisan group’s current approval of unions is more than 20 points higher than its lowest 2001-2020 rating.