The president of the AFL-CIO on Thursday said that the labor movement is growing and more popular than ever, the result of workers seeking help to raise wages and a new community outreach campaign.
“We’ve grown, we’ve grown,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, citing membership increases in public sector unions like the American Federation of Teachers.
As the nation readies for Monday’s 125th anniversary of Labor Day, Trumka cited a new Gallup poll that said unions are near a 50-year high in approval.
Some 64% of Americans approve of labor unions, said Gallup. It said that over the past five decades, the approval rating was higher only in 1999 and 2003.
“That’s roughly the highest we been, I think with a year or two exceptions, in 50 years,” bragged the nation’s top union leader.
Gallup said knowing a union member helps union approval. “86% of U.S. adults living in a household with a union member approve of unions, compared with 60% of those in nonunion households,” said the survey.
Trumka participated in an annual media roundtable hosted by the Christian Science Monitor and said the approval rating could be due to the movement’s efforts to increase wages and benefits and its community outreach.
He said that labor has been involved in teaching workers, helping to build housing, and even expanding conservative efforts with sportsmen.
“It’s working with the communities to demonstrate that we are them,” said Trumka. “It’s showing people what we our, our worth.”
