An NBC/CBS survey revealed that the majority of Americans are against the weakening of public workers’ collective bargaining rights and the reduction of their pay or benefits. The survey showed that 60 percent of Americans opposed the weakening of bargaining rights, and 56 percent were against cutting public employees pay or benefits. The majority of Americans polled also indicated that they thought that the salaries and benefits of public workers were either “about right” or “too low,” contrary to many Republican governors’ assertions that these workers were over paid with overly generous benefits.
The results of the survey were divided along partisan lines, with a slight majority of Republicans in favor of getting rid of at least some collective bargaining rights and a large majority of Democrats and Independents in support of preserving those rights. The nation wide survey was conducted between February 24 and 27 over the telephone and included 984 adults.
For almost two weeks, demonstrators in Madison, Wisconsin have been protesting Republican Governor Scott Walker’s extreme anti-union bill that proposes to reduce state workers’ salaries and take away the right of unions to collectively bargain for salary benefits, hours, and working conditions.
