Unions Under Trump: Majority Americans Favor Unionized Labor As President Picks Fight With Unions

Labor unions have the most support from Americans since before the Great Recession hit in 2008, according to a Pew Research Center report published Monday.

About 60 percent of Americans think of organized labor in a positive light. That represents a significant gain in public opinion for labor unions over the past two years. In March 2015, only 48 percent viewed organized labor in a positive light.

Americans also have a more positive view of business corporations than they did two years ago — now 56 percent of Americans view corporations favorably, up eight percentage points from March 2015.

The numbers come at a time when labor unions are nervous about their future under the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. The president ran on a message of American populism, appealing to citizens’ economic anxieties and promising to bring working-class jobs back to the U.S. But unions aren’t convinced that Trump has their best interests at heart. In December, Trump publicly feuded with an Indiana union leader, and his labor secretary pick, Andrew Puzder, is a well-known union critic.

Organized labor has historically been a partisan issue, and that trend remained true in the Pew study — there’s a stark difference in the favorability ratings between Democrats and Republicans. About three-quarters of Democrats think of unions in a positive light, but only 44 percent of Republicans do. On the other hand, fewer than half (46 percent) of Democrats view business corporations favorably, whereas seven in 10 Republicans do.

Age is another factor sharply dividing how Americans feel about unions. Adults under 30 tend to have have a much more positive view of labor unions (75 percent do) than adults over 65 (only half view unions favorably).

The full data from the Pew survey can be found here.