Poll Watch: Americans Support Unions Rather than Governors in State Budget/Collective Bargaining Disputes?

With political battles over state budgets and collective bargaining still playing out to varying degrees in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Maine,and several other states, 48% of Americans say they agree more with the unions in these disputes, while 39% agree more with the governors. Thirteen percent favor neither side or have no opinion.

And, how do the numbers break down by groups?

I am not really surprised as Americans generally support the little guy, the average American rather than a budget balancing POL.

But, isn’t this why the states and the federal government have run up massive amounts of debt? The fact is the political pressure from voters is always to accommodate and say yes to more salaries/benefits and government spending.

So, what does this mean?

Previous Gallup research about the issues involved in these debates revealed some ambivalence among Americans toward the labor unions’ positions. While Americans polled in February were generally opposed to reducing state workers’ pay, benefits, and collective bargaining rights, they were even more widely opposed to raising taxes. Also, Americans were evenly divided over whether government unions are more helpful or harmful to states.

Today, neither the governors nor the unions appear to have a strong advantage in the court of public opinion nationally, but the unions do have the slight edge, 48% to 39%. This is in keeping with decades of Gallup polling finding Americans generally approving of labor unions.