Support for Public Employee Unions Declines
With states across the country finding that benefits for public workers are becoming nearly impossible to fund in the current economic climate, support for public employee unions has fallen.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 45% of Americans now at least somewhat favor unions for public employees, while the identical number (45%) are opposed to them. These findings include 21% who Strongly Favor such unions versus 30% who are Strongly Opposed to them. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
In May of last year, 53% of Adults favored unions for public employees, while 37% opposed them.
By comparison, 51% now at least somewhat favor unions for private sector workers, with just 39% opposed.
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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on January 6-7, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
How do union families rate private sector unions versus unions for public employees? Do unaffiliated voters see a difference between the two kinds of unions? Become a Platinum member and find out.
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