Following the release of the new Gallup poll, National Press Secretary Emilia Rowland released the following statement:

“Support for unions is soaring – and so is support for VP Harris and Governor Walz’s fight for a future where every worker has the freedom to join a union. From educators to construction workers, health care professionals to public employees, and farmworkers to manufacturers, the already long list of unions representing workers across all sectors of the economy joining the Harris-Walz ticket is getting longer each week because the Harris-Walz ticket stands with working people. Workers across the country are energized and mobilized like never before because they trust VP Harris and Governor Walz to not only fight for them, but to hold anti-workers scabs Donald Trump and JD Vance accountable for putting themselves and their union-busting buddies above workers’ rights and American jobs.”

NEW: A Gallup poll shows increasing public approval for labor unions, showing that 70% of Americans in 2024 support unions.

Gallup poll: 

Axios: “Labor union disapproval hits 57-year low”

“The share of Americans who say they disapprove of labor unions hasn’t been this low since September 1967, per new Gallup data.

“Why it matters: Unions have seen a resurgence in recent years, with an uptick in strikes and organizing efforts, helped along by more positive public sentiment and, until recently, a strong labor market that emboldens workers to push for more from their employers.”

VP Harris and Governor Walz’s pro-labor record highlights their promise to continue to stand with workers.

Associated Press: “Sen. Harris pickets with UAW, rallies UNR students in Reno”

Reno Gazette-Journal: “Kamala Harris visits Las Vegas McDonald’s to protest with workers”

Associated Press: “Democrats put a spotlight on more than 1 million pensions saved under a 2021 law”  

White House Fact Sheet: “The White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment: Update on Implementation of Approved Actions”

“The Task Force, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, submitted over 70 recommendations to the President for tools Executive Branch agencies could use with existing Executive Branch powers, procedures, and practices, in order to reduce barriers to worker organizing and position the federal government as a model employer. President Biden approved all of the recommendations in February 2022.”

NPR: “4 reasons why labor unions love Tim Walz”

“He’s a former union member who shows up at picket lines

“The National Education Association, the largest labor union in the U.S. with 3 million members, wasted no time claiming Gov. Walz as one of their own. […]

“Minnesota workers have paid sick days and will soon have paid family and medical leave 

“On January 1, 2024, Minnesota workers began earning one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, which they can use to care for themselves or a family member. […]

“New noncompetes are unenforceable in Minnesota

“Minnesota joined other states in 2023 in making new noncompete agreements unenforceable.” 

Despite public opinion, Donald Trump and JD Vance’s MAGA Project 2025 agenda would undermine a worker’s right to unionize. 

Center for American Progress: “However, these gains are under threat from The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025—a playbook with strategies for eroding checks and balances across the government that offers instructions for gutting the NLRB’s enforcement capacity. This would threaten workers’ ability to come together in unions to bargain for better wages and working conditions. 

[…]

The NLRB also changed a standard from 2019 that allowed many workers to be classified as independent contractors—who are unable to unionize—rather than as regular employees. The antiworker Project 2025 advises undoing this change, which would harm workers’ ability to come together in unions.

Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership, p. 82: “Congress should also consider whether public-sector unions are appropriate in the first place. The bipartisan consensus up until the middle of the 20th century held that these unions were not compatible with constitutional government. After more than half a century of experience with public-sector union frustrations of good government management, it is hard to avoid reaching the same conclusion.”