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Good news from the US: support for unions highest since 1965
After a year of strikes, breakthroughs at previously unorganised giant employers and most importantly wins for workers, it is unsurprising but nevertheless heartening, to see the US fall back in love with labour, writes MARK GRUENBERG
COMMENDABLE TOGETHERNESS: A district-wide teacher's strike outside Whetstone High School in Columbus, Ohio, on August 24, 2022, with students and their parents rallying to their side

PUBLIC SUPPORT for unions has hit its highest point since 1965, the Gallup Organisation’s annual poll says, as respondents approve of unions by a 71 per cent to 26 per cent margin, with the rest undecided.

That ties the 1965 figure of 71 per cent support, Gallup reported. Then, 19 per cent of the public opposed unions, with the rest undecided. The all-time records in the union support-opposition poll, which started in 1936, were 75 per cent to 18 per cent in 1953 and 75 per cent to 14 per cent in the first of three surveys in 1957. The rest of the respondents were undecided.

AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler lauded the results, which she said reflect the facts on the ground, in increased enthusiasm and organising. That has been especially true among low-wage exploited workers.

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