A union for thee, but not for me

Labor unions are more popular than ever. A recent Gallup poll found support for unions at 71%, the highest it has been since Gallup started asking the question in 1965. 

They are enjoying a comeback thanks to highly visible organizing campaigns at Starbucks and Amazon, a tight labor market and concerns around COVID-19 in the workplace. But can their popularity last?

With so few workers belonging to unions anymore, it may be that today’s workforce likes the idea of unions, even if they don’t fully understand the good and bad consequences of employment in a unionized workplace. The number of workers in the private sector who are represented by unions has declined for years. In 2021, that number was only 6%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

American unions look a lot different today than they did in their heyday. The old image of a working-class laborer is no longer representative of the majority of union members. Today, a unionized employee is more likely to work as a teacher or university professor in the public sector, where 34% of employees are unionized.