Public Supports Workers in Possible Airline Strikes

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ – This could be a long year for frequent fliers, with labor problems threatening to lead to strikes at several of the nation's major airlines. Comair (Delta Connection) pilots are already on strike, and Delta pilots could walk off the job at the end of April. United Airlines flight attendants have voted to authorize a strike, and President Bush has already intervened to keep Northwest Airlines mechanics from striking.

A new Gallup poll, conducted March 26-28, shows that a majority of Americans side with the workers in their disputes with airline management. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed say they would support airline workers should they strike, while 19% side with the airlines. As might be expected, those Americans who are members of labor unions overwhelmingly support the airline workers (74%), but airline workers also enjoy support from a majority of non-union members (53%). Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, a slight majority of those who describe themselves as politically conservative also support the workers (51%), while 24% back management. This question about support for workers versus management provides an instructive first glance at the reaction of the public to possible strikes in the airline industry, but these attitudes could change depending on the circumstances surrounding an actual prolonged, highly publicized strike.

Public Critical of Bush's Stance
In addition to using his emergency powers to intervene in the Northwest Airlines talks with the International Association of Machinists, Bush has also pledged to keep workers on the job at other airlines, though he has yet to step in to the Comair strike. Fifty-four percent of Americans say Bush should not intervene in the strikes, while 37% say he should. Again, there are ideological differences here – among conservatives, 44% agree with Bush's intervention and 49% disagree. However, among moderates and liberals, the differences are clearer, with 56% of moderates and 62% of liberals opposed to a presidential intervention.

Most Americans Not Affected by Airline Strikes
Nearly two out of three Americans say they would not be affected at all if airline workers do go on strike, largely because most Americans take a limited number of trips by air each year. However, 11% say strikes at one or more airlines would be a "major inconvenience" for them, and another 27% say the strikes would be a "minor inconvenience." Not surprisingly, the effect would be greatest on those with higher incomes; 20% of those earning more than $75,000 annually claim strikes would be a "major inconvenience," and 38% call them a "minor inconvenience."

No Clear Trends in Support of Strikes
In the past, Gallup polls have shown wide shifts in public opinion on labor issues, largely dependent upon the circumstances involved in each individual dispute. For example, the public sided strongly with the Reagan Administration during the 1981 air traffic controllers strike. In that dispute, 52% of Americans supported the government's position, while 29% sympathized with the workers. However, when Eastern Airlines workers went on strike during 1989, a Gallup poll found that 57% of Americans supported the workers in that dispute, while 23% sided with the now-defunct airline. More recently, a Gallup poll conducted during the 1997 United Parcel Service strike found that 55% of Americans supported the striking members of the Teamsters Union, while 27% supported the company.

Survey Methods

The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,024 adults, 18 years and older, conducted March 26-28, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

If airline workers decided to strike, which side would you favor -- [ROTATED: the airline workers (or) the airlines]?

Do you think President Bush should or should not use his emergency powers to prevent airline workers from striking?

If there is an airline strike by employees of one or more airlines in the near future, would it -- be a major inconvenience to you, a minor inconvenience to you, or would it not affect you much at all?