Union Group Finds Support For Public Workers In Poll
By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – A poll released today shows that most Nevadans hold government workers in high regard.
Nevadans for Nevada, a collective of largely public sector unions, hired Grove Insight to conduct the poll of 500 registered voters.
The poll, which was conducted last week, comes as the salaries, benefits and contracts of unions and public sector workers are increasingly in the public spotlight.
Nick Di Archangel, spokesman for the Service Employees International Union, said that public workers needed to gauge public opinion in lieu of high-profile legislative battles like the one still unfolding in Wisconsin.
“I’ve worked in news for 20 years,” Di Archangel said. “I’ve never seen labor covered like this. … With so much scrutiny on labor unions, it was crucial to find out where people fell.”
Nevada’s Legislature is considering several budget proposals that would reduce salaries for public employees. Legislators may also change how public employees bargain for contracts as well as what they pay into retirement and benefit plans.
Di Archangel said the poll shows that most Nevadans hold favorable views of public employees.
The pollsters for Grove Insight worded the question this way:
“Please tell me overall, do you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, neutral, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable impressions of public employees?”
Among the 500 voters who answered, 61 percent held favorable views of public employees, 22 had a neutral opinion, 11 percent had an unfavorable view and 6 percent had no opinion.
In a press release from Nevadans for Nevada, the union group also highlighted that their poll supports raising taxes.
The question on the poll read:
“Right now, Nevada is facing a ONE-POINT FIVE billion dollar budget shortfall. Governor Brian Sandoval has refused to consider any compromise that includes raising some taxes – even if that means deep cuts to local schools. Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Sandoval’s position?”
While 12 percent remained neutral, 31 percent approved of the governor’s position while 57 percent disapproved.
The union poll follows recent polls from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Retail Association of Nevada.
Read the union poll here.