by Glynn Wilson

Even in a year when American unions started to stand up and fight back against conservative political attacks for the first time in many years, a slim majority of Americans, 52 percent, say they approve of labor unions. The number remains unchanged from last year and is on the lower end of what Gallup has measured historically, which proves that labor unions have a lot more work to do to make up ground with the American public.

Gallup has asked Americans whether they approve or disapprove of labor unions periodically since 1936, annually since 2001. Americans have always approved more than disapproved of organized labor in general, with the lowest approval rating of 48 percent measured in 2009, not surprisingly after eight years of union bashing by the Bush administration and other Republican candidates for governor, Congress and state legislatures.

In fact, labor has been on the butt end of Republican criticism since Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, and neither collectively or individually have they figured out a way to counter the anti-union message.

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