There is plenty to celebrate this Labor Day. Working people’s fight for freedom is front and center, and unions are an essential part of the national conversation.
New polling released by Gallup this week shows that unions enjoy an approval rating of 70%. That is an increase over 2023 and the continuation of a steady upward trend that we haven’t seen in more than a half-century. This is the eighth year in a row that public support has been above 60%, and it’s a dramatic turnaround from 15 years ago during the worst of the Great Recession.
People know and understand that life is better in a union. They know it means a bigger paycheck, better health care coverage, a more secure retirement, a safer workplace and a lot more. Strong unions mean more vibrant communities and a healthier democracy.
When you belong to a union, you have a voice. You’re not under the boss’ thumb. You have the power in numbers to make change on the job. And when unions thrive — when we can stand together to improve wages and working conditions — everyone benefits.
We see union momentum in the surge of activism across the country. Everywhere you look, working people are asserting their rights and insisting on a fair shake. Working people are feeling empowered and emboldened, demanding dignity and respect, claiming a seat at the table.
During this high-stakes election year, we need to seize this moment and ride this wave. On one side, you have the architects of Project 2025, who want to stop our momentum in its tracks, who want to crush us, who are even proposing an outright ban of public service unions like AFSCME.
And on the other side, you have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who want to strengthen our freedoms.
Vice President Harris led the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to crack down on union busting and expand protections for working people. Tim Walz, one of the nation’s most pro-worker governors, was himself a dues-paying union brother as a high school teacher in Minnesota.
Elections matter. By helping put Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House, we ensured the passage of the American Rescue Plan, which invested hundreds of billions of dollars in public services and allowed us to negotiate some of our best contracts in generations. We can’t go backwards now. We can’t jeopardize the progress of recent years. We need to build on it.
A labor movement with overwhelming public support is a powerful force. As we observe Labor Day, let’s commit to using that power over the next two months to ensure victory for pro-worker candidates at all levels, up and down the ballot.