Washington, D.C. — A new analysis from the Center for American Progress finds that support for unions remains historically high and broad-based across generations, political affiliations, and education levels.
Using data from the 2024 American National Election Study (ANES), the analysis shows that every generation expresses positive overall feelings toward unions, with younger Americans showing the strongest support. On average, both Democrats and Republicans hold favorable views of unions, with only Republican Baby Boomers showing less than neutral approval.
“Despite polarization and anti-union efforts from the Trump administration, support for unions continues to hold strong among Americans of all stripes,” said Aurelia Glass, author of the analysis and a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress. “These findings make clear that everybody likes unions, except Republican Baby Boomers, and that policymakers should make it easier for workers to organize and collectively bargain.”
The report highlights several key findings from the nationally representative 2024 ANES survey:
- Unions are popular across generations. Every age group expresses positive views of unions, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, with Millennials and Gen Z showing the strongest support.
- Partisan divides are narrow. Across all generations except Baby Boomers, Republicans and Democrats alike expressed positive overall views of unions.
- Education levels don’t dampen support. The working class remains strongly pro-union, younger college-educated Americans show especially high favorability, with college-educated Gen Z respondents rating unions at 75 out of 100.
These findings mirror results from CAP’s 2020 analysis and from national polls conducted by Gallup and Pew in 2025, all showing that public approval of unions remains near record highs. Gallup found that 68 percent of Americans approve of unions, while 72 percent of adults aged 18 to 34 say they view unions favorably.
Read the full analysis: “Everybody Likes Unions” by Aurelia Glass.
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Christian Unkenholz at [email protected].