Rasmussen Reports
March 16, 2009
Union members tend to believe that most workers want to join a labor union. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 47% of union members hold that view while only 18% disagree.
But those who don’t belong to a union hold a different perspective. By a 56% to 14% margin, they believe that most workers do not want to belong to a union.
As for personal preference, only nine percent (9%) of non-union workers would like to join a union. Eighty-one percent (81%) would not.
Even among those who are worried about losing their jobs in the near future, only nine percent (9%) would like to join a union. There is also no difference in a desire for union membership between those whose firms are hiring and those who are laying people off.
Employees of firms with fewer than 50 employees are less likely to belong to a union and less likely to be interested in a union.
All together, 24% of workers either belong to a union or would like to do so. At the same time, 59% of workers belong to the investor class and own at least $5,000 worth of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
For those who see unions as one side in a battle between labor and management, it’s worth noting that most union members have a foot in each camp: 54% of union members also belong to the investor class.
Government employees are far more likely to belong to a union than private sector workers. They are also less likely to be investors. Forty-one percent (41%) of those on the public payroll belong to a union while 42% are investors.
Among private sector employees, just 11% belong to a union while 68% are investors. As for entrepreneurs, eight percent (8%) belong to a union, and 56% invest in companies other than just their own.
Government employees are far more likely to believe that most workers want to belong to a union. Thirty-five percent (35%) of government employees hold this view, while 33% disagree and 32% are not sure. Among those who work in the private sector, just 16% believe most workers want to belong to a union while 53% disagree.
Among non-union workers who make less than $40,000 annually, 16% would like to belong to a union.
Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans and politically unaffiliated workers to belong to a union. Democrats who do not belong to a union are also far more likely than others to want union membership.
By a 34% to 27% margin, Democrats believe that most workers want to belong to a union. However, 40% of those in President Obama’s party are not sure. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Republicans, on the other hand, do not believe most workers want to be unionized, a view shared by the plurality (49%) of adults not affiliated with either party.
In a survey in September, 55% of Americans had at least also a somewhat favorable opinion of labor unions, including 19% with a Very Favorable view. Thirty-five percent (35%) held a negative view of unions.