What Americans really think about unions...

[rightwinger]

What Americans really think about unions: By the numbers - The Week

The numbers are in... and the news is good for government workers. According to two new polls — one a nationwide survey by The New York Times/CBS News, the other a Wisconsin-specific poll from Democratic pollster Public Policy Polling — a plurality of Americans support public sector unions and oppose weakening collective bargaining rights

60
Percent of Americans who oppose weakening the bargaining rights of public employee unions

33
Percent of Americans who support weaking the bargaining rights of public employee unions. The "embattled public employee unions have the support of most Americans," say Michael Cooper and Megan Thee-Brenan in The New York Times.

56
Percent of Americans who oppose cutting pay or benefits for public employees in order to reduce the deficit

37
Percent of Americans who support cutting pay or benefits for public employees in order to reduce the deficit

 

[rightwinger]

Over $100,000
Amount people earned, per year, in the income group that was most supportive of cutting public workers' pay and/or benefits. In this income group, 45 percent of those surveyed favored cuts, while 49 percent opposed them. In other income groups, the vast majority were opposed

 

[rightwinger]

51
Percent of Wisconsin voters who side with the public employee unions, according to a Public Policy Polling survey. "The state is very closely divided, but it leans slightly to the union side of things," says pollster Tom Jensen.

57
Percent of Wisconsin voters who believe workers should have the right to collectively bargain. "When it comes to broader questions about rights for public employees in Wisconsin the margins are less narrow," says Jensen.

48
Percent of Wisconsin voters who say they would support an election to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who is trying to gut collective bargaining rights

48
Percent of Wisconsin voters who would oppose a recall

52
Percent of Wisconsin voters who disapprove of Walker and say they would vote for his opponent, Democrat Tom Barrett, if they had the November elections to do over again. "My gut instinct was that Scott Walker's campaign would be popular, and resistance to it would be a minority sentiment," says Ezra Klein in The Washington Post. "My gut was very, very wrong. I wonder whether Scott Walker is beginning to get the creeping suspicion that his gut was wrong, too?"

 

[amrchaos]

Hey RW, if we took away Collective Bargaining from Unions, what purpose would they have?

I am trying to get people to understand that "nuance" and having some serious problems in getting the message across.

 

[DaGoose]

No surprises in those posts. I wonder if they have a recall which will allow the voters to recall Walker? Because is is certainly NOT doing the will of the people.

 

[Skull Pilot]

All I know about unions I learned when I was forced to join one.

We of course had to hire only union labor for all contracting jobs. We had to update a couple of bathrooms in a state run group home. The job for partially tiling two showers, some minor electrical work and two new toilets ended up costing the state 37K.

Here's why.

The plumber needed to access the pipes in the wall but said he couldn't cut the drywall because that was done by another union. He collected a 4 hour minimum for 10 minutes.

Called the drywall guy. He came and cut a few holes in the wall in about 15 minutes. he collected his 4 hour minimum and left.

Plumber comes back repairs pipe and installs new shower control in about 45 minutes. Collect his 4 hour minimum and leave.

Drywall guy comes back and patches holes in wall in about 30 minutes. Collects 4 hour minimum. And then every time he had to sand and mud again (usually 3 times) he got paid a 4 hour minimum.

Electrician comes in to move a switch. He tells us he cant cut the holes in the dry wall.....

Get the picture? This is why state jobs done by union slobs always cost 4 and 5 times the estimate. If I did that job myself it would have cost a couple grand and I would have been done in a couple days. Instead it took 2 months and cost 37K.

It's the biggest fucking scam going.

 

[Stephanie]

Boy they just keep trying to shovel shit at ya folks.

I found this from six months ago..

August 12, 2010
U.S. Approval of Labor Unions Remains Near Record Low
More Americans want unions to have less influence than more
by Jeffrey M. JonesPRINCETON, NJ -- A slim majority of 52% of Americans say they approve of labor unions, the second lowest approval rating in Gallup's 70-year history of this trend, behind only last year's 48%.



The update of one of Gallup's longest standing trend questions is based on results of Gallup's annual Work and Education poll, conducted Aug. 5-8.

Gallup first asked Americans to evaluate labor unions in 1936, at which time 72% approved. The all-time high of 75% approval came in 1953 and 1957 surveys. Support for unions declined in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but mostly hovered around the 60% mark until last year, when it dropped below the majority level for the first time.

In the poll, 10% of Americans identify themselves as union members, and an additional 6% say another member of their household belongs to a union. Seventy-two percent of Americans who are union members or live in a union household approve of unions, compared with 48% of those in non-union households.

Union approval varies widely by political party affiliation -- it is 71% among Democrats compared with 34% of Republicans and 49% among independents. All three party groups expressed their lowest approval of unions last year and, although views improved slightly, they remain less positive than before.



The Future of Union Power

Gallup finds significantly more Americans saying they want labor unions to have less (40%) rather than more (29%) influence than they have today. Twenty-seven percent say their influence should stay about the same.

Prior to last year, Americans were about equally divided in saying they wanted labor unions to have more versus less influence, or showed a tendency toward wanting unions to have more influence.



Regardless of their preference, Americans by a nearly 2-to-1 margin predict union influence will decline in the future. The poll finds 46% of Americans saying unions will become weaker in the future compared with 25% who say stronger. This general pattern has held each time Gallup has asked the question since 1999.



Implications

Labor unions are less popular now in the United States than they have been for most of the last 70 years. One reason for this could be the economic downturn. With many Americans out of work and struggling to find work, organized labor groups' missions may not seem appropriate or even fair as they might have when jobs are more plentiful. There is some precedence for an economic-related downturn in union approval, as Gallup found a mild drop in union approval during the late 1970s and early 1980s when the U.S. economy was in poor shape.

The more negative appraisal of unions the last two years could be due to the belief from union opponents that unions are likely to benefit or are benefitting from the policies of the Obama administration, including recent legislation providing aid to states that will preserve thousands of education and public sector jobs.

all of it here.
U.S. Approval of Labor Unions Remains Near Record Low

 

[California Girl]

Wasn't this the poll that included 20% households where one or more were Union members? And wasn't it conducted with less that 1,000 people?

If you subtract the numbers with a declared union interest... the poll turns on it's head... it supports Walker. Just sayin'. Do the math, suckers.

 

[DiamondDave]

Wow... a poll that supports an agenda is found.... color me shocked

 

[Truthmatters]

The tea party agenda is on the table for all to see now.

No dreamy imaginings of what they are for but the actual method and end goal is now crystal clear.


The tea party will now pay off big tie for the republcan party. They have stroked and stoked it for years now , holding it at arms length so they could deny they were one.

The big pay off for the republican party?

They cant win with them and cant win without them.

 

[NYcarbineer]

America is in decline. Part of this decline is that there are fewer and fewer good paying jobs, with good benefits, where such jobs used to exist.

The resentment towards unions is based on the fact that a great number of the 'good' jobs in that ever shrinking pool are union jobs.

The further America declines, the fewer of those good paying union jobs will exist.

If we were not a nation in decline, we would not resent our fellow Americans making a good living in a union job.

 

[rightwinger]

Walker may be committing political suicide on this issue. His mandate is not as strong as he thought it was when he started this circus

The union employees have already conceded the budget cutting issues of wages and benefits. Walker is falling on his sword to kill the unions. If he plays this hand like it appears he will, both he, and his republican backers will pay a price. Given the visibility of this protest, it is unlikely voters will forget in two years

 

[Bern80]

Yes truly logic defying that a group of people making middle to poor class income would want a means of getting more income than what the market says they're worth.

Any other great revelations you'd like to share today?

 

[Stephanie]

http://www.usmessageboard.com/media...ty-but-they-sure-love-the-pu.html#post3379307

 

[Mr Natural]

What kind of a small-minded, petty asshole would begrudge a working person a decent living?

 

[rightwinger]

The tea party agenda is on the table for all to see now.

No dreamy imaginings of what they are for but the actual method and end goal is now crystal clear.


The tea party will now pay off big tie for the republcan party. They have stroked and stoked it for years now , holding it at arms length so they could deny they were one.

The big pay off for the republican party?

They cant win with them and cant win without them.

The Tea Party..."My way or the highway" method of reaching political concensus will come back to haunt them. Not just in Wisconsin but in all states where Tea Party candidates think they have a popular mandate.

The tea party is composed of political newcomers who will pay a price for their inability to compromise

 

[zzzz]

The difference between private and public service unions are that if the private unions wages and benefits become too much of a burden the company goes out of business. In public service the business cannot do that but must continue to do its job, therefore raising taxes to pay for the higher wages and benefits.

It is because of this one critical factor that I do not think public service jobs should be unionized. Yes they cannot strike but they do have job slowdowns, blue flu and various other avenues to influence the powers that be to approve their agenda.

 

[Stephanie]

The tea party agenda is on the table for all to see now.

No dreamy imaginings of what they are for but the actual method and end goal is now crystal clear.


The tea party will now pay off big tie for the republcan party. They have stroked and stoked it for years now , holding it at arms length so they could deny they were one.

The big pay off for the republican party?

They cant win with them and cant win without them.

The Tea Party..."My way or the highway" method of reaching political concensus will come back to haunt them. Not just in Wisconsin but in all states where Tea Party candidates think they have a popular mandate.

The tea party is composed of political newcomers who will pay a price for their inability to compromise

LOL, you all sure weren't saying that when the Democrats had a supermajority and was shoving shit bill after shit down the peoples throats.

now it's all waaaa waaa waaa

 

[ba1614]

The tea party agenda is on the table for all to see now.

No dreamy imaginings of what they are for but the actual method and end goal is now crystal clear.


The tea party will now pay off big tie for the republcan party. They have stroked and stoked it for years now , holding it at arms length so they could deny they were one.

The big pay off for the republican party?

They cant win with them and cant win without them.

The Tea Party..."My way or the highway" method of reaching political concensus will come back to haunt them. Not just in Wisconsin but in all states where Tea Party candidates think they have a popular mandate.

The tea party is composed of political newcomers who will pay a price for their inability to compromise

"Tea Party..."My way or the highway""?
Who are the cowards hiding because they aren't getting their way?

 

[Truthmatters]

Who are the cowards SHOVING DOWN THE PEOPLES THROATS legislation that the majority of the people are against?