Record Number of Americans Want Greater Union Influence
This article is published in collaboration with Statista
by Katharina Buchholz
More Americans support unions today than in the entire 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. In 2026, 71 percent of U.S. respondents said they approved of unions, up from only 56 percent ten years ago and comparable to levels in the 1960s. In 2022, support also reached 71 percent, still short of a high of 75 percent in the Gallup survey in 1953 and 1957.
The desire for more union power meanwhile stood at a 25-year high of 47 percent, meaning that almost half of Americans want stronger unions. Support was divided along party lines, however, as 73 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of Republicans are for it. When it comes to people's outlook on unions, Republicans have started to agree that unions are strengthening. 21 percent of Republicans thought so in 2026, compared with 31 percent of Democrats.
Belief that unions will become stronger fell between 2023 and 2026 as the country changed from a Democratic to a Republican administration again. While 34 percent of respondents three years ago thought unions would strengthen, this stood at only 27 percent this year driven by a more negative outlook among Democrats and Independents.
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