Organized Labor as the New Undeserving Rich?: Mass Media, Class-Based Anti-Union Rhetoric and Public Support for Unions in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 997-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
John V. Kane ◽  
Benjamin J. Newman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Labor Unions ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
Perceived Similarity ◽  
Non Union ◽  
Survey Experiments ◽  
Worker Identity

Labor unions play a prominent role in the economy and in politics, and have long been depicted by opponents as an overly powerful, corrupt and economically harmful institution. In labor-related news in recent years, anti-union rhetoric has regularly focused on union workers themselves, frequently portraying them as overpaid, greedy and undeserving of their wealth, while also drawing a contrast between the compensation of union vs. non-union workers. This type of rhetoric is referred to here as class-based anti-union rhetoric (CAR). Despite its prevalence, it remains unknown whether CAR affects public opinion toward unions. This study uses a series of national survey experiments to demonstrate that exposure to CAR reduces the perceived similarity of targeted union workers, unions’ perceived deservingness of public support and support for pro-union legislation. Moreover, CAR repeatedly nullified or reversed the otherwise positive relationship between the strength of worker identity and solidarity with union workers.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Jarod Roll
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Government Regulation ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Labor History ◽  
The United States ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Non Union

The metal miners of the Tri-State district (Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) opposed social democratic unions and government regulation for nearly a century. Historians of organized labor in the United States have neglected workers like these, opting instead to focus on workers who joined unions. This introduction outlines how this study of the non-union and anti-union miners of the Tri-State district changes the field of labor history. The story of the Tri-State miners shows how some American workers rejected the protections of working-class solidarity because they inherited and embraced a faith in capitalism, white supremacy, and aggressive masculinity.

Foolish Offensiveness

2019 ◽  
pp. 120-149
Author(s):  
John M. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
Delicate Balance ◽  
The World

Chapter 6 considers US-Japanese relations from 1905 to 1909. It examines several sources of tension, including an anti-Japanese movement that was particularly strong among organized labor in San Francisco, sensationalist newspapers in both countries, and concerns that Japan would attack the Philippines or Hawaii. The chapter argues that Roosevelt sought to strike a delicate balance in relations with Tokyo by protecting Japanese already in the United States, but also reducing the inflow of immigrants to mollify anti-Japanese sentiment. In an effort to upgrade US capabilities in the event of war, the president also convinced Congress to build additional battleships and sent the navy on a cruise around the world. TR also viewed the cruise as a way to increase public support for naval expansion.

Bureaucracy, Power, and Threat: Unions and Strikes in The United States, 1990-2001

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Martin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Labor Unions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
Strike Activity ◽  
Considerable Evidence ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Movement Organizations

The bureaucratization of many social movements has generated controversy among scholars and activists alike. While there is considerable evidence that formalized social movement organizations (SMOs) tend to be successful, critics maintain that such actors invariably shift resources away from protest, reducing their disruptive potential. The current research seeks to reorient this debate by introducing the concept of threat as an integral, but overlooked, dimension of protest. Specifically, I hypothesize that the costs associated with collective action will motivate formalized SMOs to leverage the threat of protest to achieve new gains. The empirical case is made using data from a sample of labor unions and their strike activity from 1990-2001, a period of growing acrimony between organized labor and firms that is particularly well suited for analyzing threat. The findings highlight the role of threat in movement challenges and how it interacts with the broader environment within which the SMO is embedded.

scholarly journals Public support for a union default: Predicting factors and implications for public policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 0143831X2096981
Author(s):  
Mark Harcourt ◽  
Gregor Gall ◽  
Margaret Wilson ◽  
Korey Rubenstein ◽  
Sudong Shang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Non Union ◽  
Predicting Factors ◽  
Gender And Age

Drawing on survey findings, in this article the authors examine levels of public support in New Zealand for a union default. The key findings are that support is high (59%), that support is principally predicted by a belief in the default’s effectiveness for improving employees’ lives, and that this belief mediates a number of other predictors, such as union membership, non-union by choice, political party, household income, gender and age. There are strong grounds for believing this would translate into actual support for a union default and a consequent rise in union membership. These findings are contextualised with regard to Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States, where the authors draw out the implications for public policy and how a union default could be operationalised in the countries under study.

scholarly journals Civilian Casualties and Public Support for Military Action: Experimental Evidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Johns ◽  
Graeme A. M. Davies
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Psychological Model ◽  
Military Action ◽  
Civilian Casualty ◽  
Survey Experiments ◽  
Casualty Aversion

In contrast to the expansive literature on military casualties and support for war, we know very little about public reactions to foreign civilian casualties. This article, based on representative sample surveys in the United States and Britain, reports four survey experiments weaving information about civilian casualties into vignettes about Western military action. These produce consistent evidence of civilian casualty aversion: where death tolls were higher, support for force was invariably and significantly lower. Casualty effects were moderate in size but robust across our two cases and across different scenarios. They were also strikingly resistant to moderation by other factors manipulated in the experiments, such as the framing of casualties or their religious affiliation. The importance of numbers over even strongly humanizing frames points toward a utilitarian rather than a social psychological model of casualty aversion. Either way, civilian casualties deserve a more prominent place in the literature on public support for war.

Violence on Many Sides: Framing Effects on Protest and Support for Repression

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Pearce Edwards ◽  
Daniel Arnon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Framing Effects ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Nonviolent Resistance ◽  
Survey Experiments ◽  
Positive Effect

Abstract The success of protests depends on whether they favorably affect public opinion: nonviolent resistance can win public support for a movement, but regimes counter by framing protest as violent and instigated by outsiders. The authors argue that public perceptions of whether a protest is violent shift based on the framing of the types of action and the identities of participants in those actions. The article distinguishes between three dimensions: (1) threat of harm, (2) bearing of arms and (3) identity of protesters. Using survey experiments in Israel and the United States, the study finds support for framing effects. Threat of harm has the largest positive effect on perceptions of violence and support for repression. Surprisingly, social out-groups are not perceived as more violent, but respondents favor repressing them anyway. Support for repressing a nonthreatening out-group is at least as large as support for repressing a threatening in-group. The findings link contentious action and public opinion, and demonstrate the susceptibility of this link to framing.

The New Economic Populism and the Future of Inequality in the United States

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Franko ◽  
Christopher Witko
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Labor Unions ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Income Disparities ◽  
The Face ◽  
Over Time

The authors conclude the book by recapping their arguments and empirical results, and discussing the possibilities for the “new economic populism” to promote egalitarian economic outcomes in the face of continuing gridlock and the dominance of Washington, DC’s policymaking institutions by business and the wealthy, and a conservative Republican Party. Many states are actually addressing inequality now, and these policies are working. Admittedly, many states also continue to embrace the policies that have contributed to growing inequality, such as tax cuts for the wealthy or attempting to weaken labor unions. But as the public grows more concerned about inequality, the authors argue, policies that help to address these income disparities will become more popular, and policies that exacerbate inequality will become less so. Over time, if history is a guide, more egalitarian policies will spread across the states, and ultimately to the federal government.

Questions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Gibson ◽  
Michael J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
The U.S

We have investigated the differences in support for the U.S. Supreme Court among black, Hispanic, and white Americans, catalogued the variation in African Americans’ group attachments and experiences with legal authorities, and examined how those latter two factors shape individuals’ support for the U.S. Supreme Court, that Court’s decisions, and for their local legal system. We take this opportunity to weave our findings together, taking stock of what we have learned from our analyses and what seem like fruitful paths for future research. In the process, we revisit Positivity Theory. We present a modified version of the theory that we hope will guide future inquiry on public support for courts, both in the United States and abroad.

Labor Unions and Undocumented Immigrants: Local Perspectives on Transversal Solidarity During DACA and DAPA

2020 ◽  
pp. 089692052098012
Author(s):  
Els de Graauw ◽  
Shannon Gleeson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Labor Unions ◽  
Undocumented Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immigrant Communities ◽  
Immigrant Rights ◽  
Deferred Action ◽  
Immigrant Organizations ◽  
Local Perspectives

National labor unions in the United States have formally supported undocumented immigrants since 2000. However, drawing on 69 interviews conducted between 2012 and 2016 with union and immigrant rights leaders, this article offers a locally grounded account of how union solidarity with undocumented immigrants has varied notably across the country. We explore how unions in San Francisco and Houston have engaged with Obama-era immigration initiatives that provided historic relief to some undocumented immigrants. We find that San Francisco’s progressive political context and dense infrastructure of immigrant organizations have enabled the city’s historically powerful unions to build deep institutional solidarity with immigrant communities during the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA [2012]) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA [2014]) programs. Meanwhile, Houston’s politically divided context and much sparser infrastructure of immigrant organizations made it necessary for the city’s historically weaker unions to build solidarity with immigrant communities through more disparate channels.

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