Recent labor battles in states around the U.S. have brought the role of public-sector unions in a 21st-century workforce sharply into focus. How have Americans’ attitudes about unions shifted over the years?

The nation’s latest political controversy recently came to a head when legislation was introduced in Wisconsin as a budget-saving measure but considered by many as a sweeping anti-union bill. To close the state’s $3.6 billion budget gap, the proposed changes would eliminate the ability for most public-sector unions to negotiate better health and pension plans, though they could still negotiate on salary.

The main point of contention among all the uproar is the proposed stripping of state and local public workers‘ collective bargaining rights, in effect busting public-employee unions.

“If adopted, it would mark a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which passed a comprehensive collective bargaining law in 1959 and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees,” the Associated Press reports.

Around the middle of the last century, labor unions represented about a third of all American workers. Since then, the United States labor movement has undergone major changes, particularly in recent years, not the least of which has been shrinking membership.

The union membership rate in the U.S. has fallen from 20.1 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 1983 to 11.9 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) latest union members summary, which reports that there are 14.7 million union workers in the U.S., down from 17.7 million in 1983. Today, more public-sector workers belong to a union than do private-sector workers.

The dwindling membership base is not the only aspect of the nation’s unionized labor that has changed over the years.

Today, the public image of labor unions is near an all-time low. While a majority of Americans believe unions have a positive effect on salaries, benefits and working conditions, few think that unions contribute to productivity, the availability of good jobs and the ability of U.S. companies to compete globally, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Of the 1,385 adults polled by Pew, 45 percent had a favorable view of unions in early February, slightly higher than 41 percent a year ago. (Corporations don’t fare much better, as 47 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of them.)

In similar findings, a Gallup poll of 1,013 adults last August found that 52 percent of Americans approve of labor unions, yet that is the lowest approval for them in the 70 years Gallup has been posing the question. In 1936, when Gallup first asked Americans to evaluate labor unions, 72 percent approved.

In 2011, Americans have mixed views of the impact of labor unions on salaries and working conditions, productivity, job availability and international competitiveness.

About half (53 percent) say unions have had a positive effect on the salaries and benefits of union workers, while just 17 percent say they have had a negative effect. Respondents hold similar views about the impact of unions on working conditions for all workers (51 percent positive, 17 percent negative).

However, while a majority of Americans believe unions have a positive effect on salaries, benefits and working conditions, few think that unions contribute to productivity, the availability of good jobs and the ability of U.S. companies to compete globally.

Only 34 percent of respondents believe unions contribute to workplace productivity, and just 32 percent say unions have a positive impact on the availability of good jobs.

Meanwhile, less than a quarter (24 percent) believes that unions have a positive impact on the ability of American companies to compete in the global marketplace.

In Gallup’s August 2010 poll, 40 percent said they wanted to see unions wield less influence, 29 percent wanted them to have more clout and 27 percent said the level of their influence should remain as is.

While labor unions are not exactly popular, Americans are more willing to side with unions than with the government in labor disputes. In the poll, 44 percent say they would likely support unions if they took on the government, while 38 percent say they would more likely back the government.

Another national poll, by USA Today and Gallup, concluded last week that Americans, by a relatively healthy margin — 61 percent to 33 percent — oppose efforts to prohibit unions from collective bargaining, which has been the main point of contention in Wisconsin. A slimmer majority opposes even reducing pay or benefits for government employees.

According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, announced yesterday, a third of 984 adults surveyed view unions favorably, a quarter view them unfavorably and the rest are either undecided or have not heard enough about them. Nonetheless, the latest nationwide findings indicate that a majority of Americans say they oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions and are also against cutting the pay or benefits of public workers to reduce state budget deficits.

In Wisconsin, fallout from the bill’s introduction came swiftly: Thousands of workers descended on the state Capital to protest for nearly two weeks, and Senate Democrats in the GOP-led Legislature fled their state in an effort to stall a vote on the bill and force Republicans to the negotiating table.

Responding to a similar outcry, Ohio state Senate leaders dropped a provision from their bill last week that would have barred state workers from collectively bargaining on wages. The bill now would prohibit them from striking. Legislation in Indiana along the same lines has also caused an uproar.

Related: How Union Membership Has Changed Over 25 Years

Resources

Walker to Cut Union Rights in Budget
by Scott Bauer
The Associated Press, Feb. 10, 2011

Thousands Protest Anti-Union Bill in Wisconsin
by Scott Bauer
The Associated Press, Feb. 16, 2011

Union Members Summary – 2010
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jan. 21, 2011

Labor Unions Seen as Good for Workers, Not U.S. Competitiveness
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Feb. 17, 2011

U.S. Approval of Labor Unions Remains Near Record Low
by Jeffrey M. Jones
Gallup, Aug. 12, 2010

Poll: Americans Favor Union Bargaining Rights
by Dennis Cauchon
USA Today/Gallup, Feb. 22, 2011

Poll Shows Support for Embattled Public Sector Workers
by Michael Cooper and Megan Thee-Brenan
The New York Times/CBS News, Feb. 28, 2011

Thousands Gather at Capitol to Protest Walker Budget Bill
by Clay Barbour
Wisconsin State Journal, Feb. 16, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Holds Firm Against Protesters
by Caitlin Huey-Burns
U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 28, 2011

Unions Under Fire Across Many States
by Carmen McCollum
NWI.com, Feb. 27, 2010