Voters Approve of PRO Act Legislation and Support a Second Attempt at Unionization by the Amazon Warehouse Workers in Bessemer, Alabama
By Kirby Phares
Polling from Data for Progress shows that likely voters support improving labor laws that protect workers and give them the ability to unionize without corporate obstruction.
In a survey fielded between August 6 and August 9, we found that voters support the PRO Act by a +29-point margin. Support for strengthening labor laws and giving workers more power in the workplace included 75 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of Independents. More than one-third of Republicans support the PRO Act.
In April 2021, Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama attempted to form a union, but this measure ultimately failed. Following the April 2021 election, a federal labor official now recommends rerunning the election due to Amazon’s anti-union behavior during the election. We tested voters’ support for a second election and found that voters support the decision by a +21-point margin. This includes a +48-point margin of Democrats, +4-point margin of Independents, and 42 percent of Republicans.
Our polling finds a greater amount of support for a second attempt at unionization by workers at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. Likely voters said that they supported another effort to form a union by a +43-point margin. More than 75 percent of Democrats support a second attempt, in addition to nearly two-thirds of Independents and a majority of Republican voters.
Members of Congress should feel confident in the PRO Act and other legislation that would strengthen labor laws. While the attempt at unionization failed at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, Americans support those workers potentially putting forth another effort. This signals that voters support giving workers more power in the workplace through forming unions and bolstering labor legislation.
Kirby Phares (@kirbyphares) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology:
From August 6 to 9, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,586 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±2 percentage points.