Support for labor unions is near an all-time high. According to the newest Gallup Labor Day poll, 70% of Americans say they approve of labor unions — up from 67% last year. 

The support for unions comes even as few survey respondents reported being union members. Just 13% of those surveyed said a household member was part of a labor union. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 11.2% of the country’s workforce were represented by unions and 10% belonged to a union in 2023.

In the future, 34% think labor unions will become stronger than they are today — up from 19% last year. A growing number of respondents (43%) also said they would like to see labor unions in the United States have more influence — an increase of 4 points compared with 2023 and 2022.

A majority of those polled said labor unions mostly help their union members (77%) and the U.S. economy in general (61%).

Dating back to the 1930s and running through the late 1970s, support for labor unions was at least 60%, after which it began to decline. Since hitting an all-time low in 2010, support for labor unions has generally been on the upswing ever since. 

“It’s undeniable. Americans want the freedom to organize,” American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union president Lee Saunders said in a statement. “From cultural institutions to health care and childcare, working people across the country are showing the power they have in a union to negotiate better pay, to strengthen benefits and job security, to improve worker safety, and to invest in a strong retirement. Americans know that unions give working people the freedom to get ahead.”