Support For Unions Needs To Be Stronger

Unions have been very good for this country. They have provided decent wages and benefits for their workers -- and even for workers not in a union (because those employers didn't want to lose their best workers to a company with a union). And by helping workers to get good wages and benefits, unions have been the primary reason for a large and vibrant middle class in the United States.

Unfortunately, the capitalists want to return to the days when they could abuse workers with impunity -- and they are enjoying some success in that effort. They are doing it with a propaganda effort to demonize unions, and through the efforts of their Republican lackeys in Congress (who are trying to dismantle worker rights and union strength).

As the top chart shows, a slim majority of Americans still support the union movement (about 54%). This is true of Democrats and Independents, and in most regions of the country. Only among Republicans and in the South (where "right to work" laws reign), are less than a majority in favor of unions. But this is not enough. Support for labor unions is at an all-time low (back in 1956, the support for unions was 75% among the general public).

And as the bottom chart shows, most Americans expect unions to only grow weaker in the future. Only 22% think unions will grow stronger in the future. That's sad, because that is exactly what needs to happen -- for unions to grow in strength and membership.

Americans have had it pretty good for too long, and they seem to have forgotten who made it that way. Too many now think that capitalists have provided good wages and benefits out of the goodness of their hearts, which is ridiculous since corporations and other capitalists don't have hearts -- only bottom lines. Others seem to think they can negotiate on an equal basis with corporations and rich capitalists. That's also ridiculous. Capitalists have all the power, because they control all the jobs. Their greed is only curtailed by unions and regulations (both of which the capitalists would like to eliminate).

And in the last few decades, the Republicans have been doing the bidding of those capitalists -- by doing away with regulations and weakening the power of unions. This has resulted in stagnant worker wages (while the rich are posting record-breaking income gains) and a shrinking middle class in the United States. And they are not done yet. They want to take us all the way back to the time when workers had no rights, their were no unions, and employers could abuse their workers at will.

We must reverse this trend. We are already one of the most economically-unequal countries in the world, and if we continue much further down this path we will become a country of just haves and have-nots (with no middle class) -- the largest banana republic in the world. One of the best things we could do to set things right again and reestablish a more just and fair economy is to strengthen the labor unions (and support their growth in membership) -- because without a strong union movement, our economy (and our country) is doomed.

(The charts above were made with information from a recent Gallup Poll. The survey was conducted between August 7th and 11th of 2,059 nationwide adults, and has a margin of error of 3 points.)