Most US adults say decline in union membership bad for the country: Pew

A survey conducted earlier this year found that a majority of American adults said declining union membership would be bad for the country.

Pew Research Center investigation We found that 54 percent of U.S. adults believe declining union membership is bad for the country. Additionally, 59% said fewer workers would be bad for working people, the survey found.

Union membership has been declining in the United States in recent years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 10% unionization rate in 2023, down slightly from 10.1% in 2022. Pugh pointed to union membership rates. significantly decreased Since 1983, approximately 20.1 percent of American workers have belonged to a union.

A recent survey found that there are partisan differences in how declining membership would affect the country and workers. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say declining party membership is somewhat or very bad for the country, as do 40% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

Similarly, 74% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say it’s somewhat or very bad for workers, as do 43% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

In fact, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were more likely to say that declining union membership is good for the country and workers. Fifty-eight percent said a decline in membership would be somewhat or very good for the country, and 55% said the same would be true for working people.

The survey was conducted between January 16th and 21st among 5,140 US adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 1.7 percentage points.