What Wisconsin says about labor unions' clout in America

Here are seven questions the Wisconsin union protest raised about the role of unions in the US.

7. Who's winning the battle for public opinion?

Reuters/Allen Fredrickson
Wisconsin State Senator Tim Carpenter (D) from Milwaukee addresses supporters at the Wisconsin State Capitol Building following a 22 day absence by the 14 democratic senators in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent passage of Wisconsin's Budget Repair Bill in Madison, Wisconsin March 12.

While Americans' opinion of unions has steadily slipped in the past decade, most people seem to oppose stripping unions of bargaining powers – 61 percent of US voters, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll.

And while only 47 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of unions, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll, that still outstrips the 39 percent who have an unfavorable opinion. Another Pew poll specifically about Wisconsin, meanwhile, found that 42 percent sided more with the union employees than with the governor (31 percent).

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