Membership in labor unions in the U.S. may be on a long, downward slide, but the share of Americans who view unions favorably continues to increase. Sixty-four percent of people polled by Gallup earlier this month approve of labor unions, one of the highest rates in half a century. Americans have not viewed unions in such a positive light since 2003, when the rate hit 65%. Gallup has been tracking the public’s feelings about unions since the 1930s. After bottoming out in 2009 at an approval rating of 48% ― the lowest on record ― their favorability has increased steadily over the past decade, as the economy has been on the rise.

Lexi Browning / Reuters Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks before a crowd of striking educators at Capital High School in Charleston, West Virginia, U.S., February, 19 2019. REUTERS/Lexi Browning

Americans now have a more positive view of unions than they generally did in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, though unions still fall short of the marks they hit in the 1950s. Gallup has found over the years that people’s feelings about unions often move in tandem with the economy. When joblessness rises, respondents tend to say they disapprove of unions and their role in the U.S. workplace, which may be why the approval rate reached its nadir during the Great Recession. But when the unemployment rate falls ― it now stands at just 3.7% ― respondents are more bullish on organized labor and how it can shape the American job market.

64% of Americans approve of labor unions, up 16 percentage points since 2009. https://t.co/G4AQPnXJyWpic.twitter.com/ULhmwb4tVx — GallupNews (@GallupNews) August 28, 2019