Clarus Poll: 64% of Voters Oppose Government Employee Unions

Wisconsin Fight Spotlights Issue

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As President Obama has joined the political battle in Wisconsin that pits Republican Gov. Scott Walker against public employee unions, a nationwide Clarus Poll finds that a substantial majority of Americans believe government employees should not be able to belong to labor unions.

In the Clarus Poll, sixty-four percent of voters polled said government employees should not be represented by unions. Twenty-nine percent of voters said government employees should be represented by labor unions that bargain for higher pay, benefits and pensions.

The survey, conducted by the nonpartisan Clarus Research Group, found that

• There is a deep partisan divide on the issue. Republicans and independents oppose government employee unionization.
• Only 10% of Republicans and 23% of independents think public employees should be represented by unions. On the other hand, 49% of Democrats do so.
• Voters in the Northeast were most supportive of public employee unionization (42%) and the South was least favorable (24%).

"As pressures to cut state and federal budgets intensify, government employee unions are likely to become a major issue in the 2012 election," said Ron Faucheux, President of Clarus Research Group.

The survey was taken by Clarus Research Group, a nonpartisan polling firm based in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4-8, 2011 of a representative, nationwide sample of 1,001 registered voters. Interviewing was conducted by live telephone calls. The margin of error is +/-3.1 percent.

Poll questioned asked: "Do you think government employees should be represented by labor unions that bargain for higher pay, benefits and pensions... or do you think government employees should not be represented by labor unions?"

SOURCE Clarus Research Group