Work

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Work	See also: Confidence/Trust in Institutions

Polls listed chronologically. Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). April 23-26, 2009. N=1,005 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.1.
					.
"As you may have heard, Congress is debating legislation that would change the way in which workers unionize. This change would allow workers at a company to join a labor union if a majority of workers at that company sign a petition saying they want to form a union, rather than by requiring the vote take place in a federally supervised secret ballot election, as they do now. Would you favor or oppose passing this legislation?"
					.
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	4/23-26/09	42	45	13

FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. March 31-April 1, 2009. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE ą 3. RV = registered voters. LV = likely voters.
.
"I'm going to read you the names of several individuals and groups. Please tell me whether you have a generally favorable or unfavorable opinion of each one. If you've never heard of one please just say so. Labor unions."
.
		Favorable	Unfavorable	Unsure	Never Heard of
		%	%	%	%
	3/31 - 4/1/09 RV	42	46	11	1
	10/22-23/02 LV	50	32	16	2

Gallup Poll. March 14-15, 2009. N=1,024 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
						.
"How closely have you been following news about a bill in Congress that would change the rules governing how unions can organize workers: very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?"
						.
		Very Closely	Somewhat Closely	Not Too Closely	Not at All	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	3/14-15/09	12	22	26	39	1
						.
"Generally speaking, would you favor or oppose a new law that would make it easier for labor unions to organize workers?"
						.
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	3/14-15/09	53	39	8
						.
"How important is it to you, personally, whether or not Congress passes a new law that would make it easier for labor unions to organize workers: is it very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all?"
						.
		Very Important	Somewhat Important	Not Too Important	Not at All Important	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	3/14-15/09	26	29	23	20	3

Diageo/Hotline Poll conducted by FD. Jan. 21-24, 2009. N=800 registered voters nationwide. MoE ą 3.5.
					.
"I would now like to read you some background on some legislation Congress is considering and ask you if you support or oppose it. As you may know, Congress is debating legislation to change how unions may form in companies. There are two parts to this legislation. The first part would change the way unions are formed. Instead of holding a federally supervised secret ballot election to decide whether to unionize, union organizers would be allowed to ask employees to sign a card saying they support forming a union. If a majority of employees sign these cards, the union would officially represent that company's entire workforce. The second part of the legislation would change the bargaining process. It would give the newly formed union and the employer 90 days to reach a contract agreement or else the matter will be handed over to federal arbitrators. It would be those arbitrators who would determine the wages, benefits and other terms of the contract that employees would be required to work under for two years. Do you support or oppose this legislation?"
					.
		Support	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	1/21-24/09	37	50	14

CBS News/New York Times Poll. Jan. 11-15, 2009. N=1,112 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
					.
"Now, if you were free to do either, would you prefer to have a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay home and take care of a house and family?"
					.
		Job Outside The Home	Stay Home	Unsure
		%	%	%
	1/11-15/09	59	38	3

The Harris Poll. July 8-13, 2008. N=approx. 500 adults nationwide. MoE ą 4.
.
"I am going to read off a number of different occupations. For each, would you tell me if you feel it is an occupation of very great prestige, considerable prestige, some prestige, or hardly any prestige at all? . . ."
.
		Very Great Prestige
.
		2008	2007	2006	2003	2000	1998
		%	%	%	%	%	%
.
	Firefighter *	57	61	63	55	n/a	n/a
	Scientist	56	54	54	57	56	55
	Doctor	53	52	58	52	61	61
	Nurse	52	50	55	47	n/a	n/a
	Teacher	52	54	52	49	53	53
	Military officer	46	52	51	46	42	34
	Police officer **	46	46	43	42	38	41
	Farmer	41	41	36	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Priest/Minister/Clergy ***	40	42	40	38	45	46
	Engineer	40	30	34	28	32	34
	Member of Congress	28	26	28	30	33	25
	Architect	28	23	27	24	26	26
	Lawyer	24	22	21	17	21	23
	Athlete	20	16	23	17	21	20
	Journalist	18	13	16	15	16	15
	Union leader	18	13	12	15	16	16
	Business executive ****	17	14	11	18	15	18
	Actor	16	9	12	13	n/a	n/a
	Entertainer	15	12	18	17	21	19
	Accountant	15	11	17	15	14	17
	Banker	15	10	17	14	15	18
	Stockbroker	10	12	11	8	n/a	n/a
	Real estate broker/agent	6	5	6	6	n/a	n/a
						.
	* "Fireman" prior to 2006. "Policeman" prior to 2003. * "Priest/Minister/Clergyman" prior to 2007. **** "Businessman" prior to 2003.

Gallup Poll. Aug. 13-16, 2007. N=1,019 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3 (for all adults).
						.
"Do you approve or disapprove of labor unions?"
						.
		Approve	Disapprove	Unsure
		%	%	%
	8/13-16/07	60	32	8
	8/7-10/06	59	29	12
	8/8-11/05	58	33	9
	8/04	59	34	7
	8/03	65	29	6
	8/02	58	33	9
	8/01	60	32	8
	8/99	65	28	7
	3/99	66	29	5
	8/97	60	31	9
	7/91	60	30	10
	7/86	59	30	11
	1/78	59	31	10
	9/67	66	23	11
	10/58	64	21	15
	7/47	64	25	11
	1936	72	20	8
						.
"Is anyone living in your household a member of a labor union?"
						.
		Yes	No
		%	%
	8/13-16/07	15	84
	8/7-10/06	17	81
	8/8-11/05	19	81
	8/04	18	82
	8/03	18	82
						.
"Thinking about the future, do you think labor unions in this country will become stronger than they are today, the same as today, or weaker than they are today?" Options rotated
						.
		Stronger	Same	Weaker	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	8/13-16/07	19	31	45	5
	8/8-11/05	19	25	53	3
	8/04	21	34	41	4
	8/02	23	35	36	6
	8/01	24	30	40	6
	8/99	25	28	44	3
						.
"Would you, personally, like to see labor unions in the United States have more influence than they have today, the same amount as today, or less influence than they have today?" Options rotated
						.
		More	Same	Less	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	8/13-16/07	35	33	28	4
	8/8-11/05	38	29	30	3
	8/04	29	36	32	3
	8/02	27	36	31	6
	8/01	30	35	31	4
	8/99	30	36	32	2
						.
"If you were free to do either, would you prefer to have a job outside the home, or would you prefer to stay at home and take care of the house and family?"
						.
		Outside Home	Stay Home	Both (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	58	37	3	2
	Men	68	29	1	2
	Women	50	45	4	1

CBS News Poll. Jan. 1-3, 2007. N=993 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
						.
"With the Democrats in control of Congress, do you think the minimum wage will go up, go down, or stay about the same?"
						.
		Go Up	Go Down	Stay Same	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	1/1-3/07	68	0	30	2

Associated Press-AOL News Poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs. Dec. 19-21, 2006. N=1,004 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.1.
					.
"Do you favor or oppose an increase in the minimum wage?"
					.
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	12/19-21/06	80	18	2

CNN Poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation. Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2006. N=1,004 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
					.
"Do you favor or oppose Congress passing legislation that would raise the minimum wage?"
					.
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	8/30 - 9/2/06	86	13	1

Gallup Poll. Aug. 7-10, 2006. N=1,007 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3 (for all adults).
						.
"Overall, do you think labor unions mostly help or mostly hurt [see below]?"
						.
		Help	Hurt	Unsure
		%	%	%
	"Workers who are members of unions"
	8/7-10/06	71	21	8
	8/28-30/05	69	25	6
	8/4-6/03	76	20	4
						.
	"The U.S. economy in general"
	8/7-10/06	53	36	11
	8/28-30/05	54	39	7
	8/4-6/03	54	38	8
						.
	"Workers who are not members of unions"
	8/7-10/06	33	51	16
	8/28-30/05	38	52	10
	8/4-6/03	36	54	10
						.
	"The companies where workers are unionized"
	8/7-10/06	50	39	11
	8/28-30/05	53	40	7
	8/4-6/03	58	35	7
						.
"If you were taking a new job and had your choice of a boss would you prefer to work for a man or a woman?"
						.
		Man	Woman	No Difference (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	37	19	43	1
	Men	34	10	56	-
	Women	40	26	32	2

CBS News/New York Times Poll. July 21-25, 2006. N=1,127 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3 (for all adults).
				.
"As you may know, the federal minimum wage is currently $5.15 an hour. Do you favor or oppose raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over the next two years, or not?"
				.
		Favor	Oppose
		%	%
	ALL adults	85	13
	Democrats	94	5
	Independents	84	12
	Republicans	75	22

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). July 21-24, 2006. N=1,010 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.1.
					.
"Do you favor or oppose raising the minimum wage from five dollars and fifteen cents an hour to seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour?"
					.
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	7/21-24/06	76	20	4

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). June 9-12, 2006. N=1,002 adults nationwide. Results below are among registered voters.
						.
"I'm going to read you some positions that someone running for Congress could take. For each one, please tell me whether you would be more likely to vote for a candidate for Congress who takes this position, less likely to vote for this candidate, or would it not make a difference to you either way? Favors increasing the minimum wage from five dollars and fifteen cents per hour to six dollars and sixty-five cents per hour."
						.
		More Likely	Less Likely	No Difference	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	6/9-12/06	54	25	20	1

Gallup Poll. Nov. 7-10, 2005. N=1,011 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
					.
"Do you favor or oppose Congress passing legislation that would raise the minimum wage?"
					.
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	11/7-10/05	83	14	3
					.
"Just your best guess: What is the current minimum wage rate per hour worked?"
					.
	Mean response	$6.09
	Median response	$6.00

The Harris Poll. Oct. 14-19, 2003. N=1,017 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
.
"First, we would like to know approximately how many hours a week you spend at your job or occupation, and that includes keeping house or going to school, as well as working for pay or profit. How many hours would you estimate you spend at work, housekeeping, or studies, including any travel time to and from the job or school? "And about how many hours each week do you estimate you have available to relax, watch TV, take part in sports or hobbies, go swimming or skiing, go to the movies, theater, concerts, or other forms of entertainment, get together with friends, and so forth?"
.
		Work (Median Hours)	Leisure (Median Hours)
	2003	49	19
	2002	47	20
	2001	50	20
	2000	50	20
	1999	50	20
	1998	50	19
	1997	51	20
	1995	51	19
	1994	51	20
	1993	50	19
	1989	49	19
	1987	47	17
	1984	47	18
	1980	47	19
	1975	43	24
	1973	41	26

FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. May 24-25, 2000. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE ą 3.
			.
"Of all occupations or careers, which one do you think is most respected?"
		%
	Clergy	28
	Doctor	24
	Judge	10
	Teacher	10
	Scientist	5
	Police officer	3
	Farmer	2
	Military officer	2
	Pro athlete	2
	Other	9
	Don't know	5

Gallup Poll. Aug. 24-26, 1999. N=1,028 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
			.
"In labor disputes of the last two or three years, have your sympathies, in general, been on the side of unions or on the side of the companies?"
		%
	Unions	45
	Companies	37
	Neither (vol.)	5
	Both (vol.)	6
	No opinion	7

Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. June 24-25, 1999. N=750 adults nationwide.
						.
		ALL	18-29 Years Old	30-49 Years Old	50 & Older
		%	%	%	%
"Do you think Americans today are as willing to work hard at their jobs to get ahead as they were in the past, or are not as willing to work hard to get ahead?"
	As willing	28	22	30	28
	Not as willing	67	76	65	66
	Don't know	5	2	5	6
						.
"Do you think most young Americans graduating from college these days are pretty realistic about how much money their first job will pay, or do they have unrealistic expectations about how much their first job will pay?"
	Realistic	22	25	19	24
	Unrealistic	68	70	72	63
	Don't know	10	5	9	13
						.
"Do you think it is easier or harder to get rich in America today than it used to be -- or is it no different than it was?"
	Easier	26
	Harder	38
	No different	31
	Don't know	5
						.
"How likely is it that you will ever become wealthy because of your work, investments, inheritance, or good luck? Would you say it is very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely?"
	Very likely	12	13	9	15
	Somewhat likely	29	42	30	21
	Not too likely	31	32	38	21
	Not at all likely	26	12	21	40
	Already wealthy (vol.)	1	0	1	1
	Don't know	1	1	1	2
						.
Asked of respondents who are employed (N=492): "If finances were not an issue, at what age would you like to retire?"
	Under 40	10
	40-50	29
	51-59	25
	60-65	26
	Over 65	4
	Never	2
	Don't know	4
	Mean age = 52.5
						.
Asked of respondents who are employed (N=492): *"Regardless of when you would like* to retire, looking ahead, at what age do you expect to be able to retire?"**
	50 and under	9
	51-59	17
	60-65	49
	Over 65	16
	Never	6
	Don't know	3
	Mean age = 61.6
						.
Asked of respondents who are employed (N=492): "Do you think there is a good chance, some chance, or no chance whatsoever that you could become wealthy in your current job?"
	Good chance	13
	Some chance	15
	No chance whatsoever	71
	Already wealthy (vol.)	1
						.
Asked of respondents who are employed (N=492): "In you current job, do you receive bonuses based on your performance or the company's performance?"
	Yes	43
	No/Not sure	57
						.
Asked of respondents who are employed (N=492): "In you current job, do you receive stock options or the opportunity to buy company stock?"
	Yes	26
	No/Not sure	74
						.
Asked of respondents who are employed (N=492): "In you current job, do you receive incremental raises over time?"
	Yes	66
	No/Not sure	34

Shell Oil Company Shell Poll conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates (D). July 17-20, 1998. N=1,123 adults nationwide.
		.
"In general, how loyal do you think that companies are to their employees today: very loyal, fairly loyal, just somewhat loyal, or not too loyal? "And in general, how loyal do you think employees are to their companies today: very loyal, fairly loyal, just somewhat loyal, or not too loyal?"
		.
		Among employed adults
		Company Loyalty To Employees	Employee Loyalty To Companies
		%	%
	Very loyal	4	7
	Fairly loyal	20	27
	Just somewhat loyal	37	42
	Not too loyal	38	23
	Not sure	1	1

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