ICYMI: "Michigan Union Households Support Some Labor Reform Measures"

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New polling commissioned by the Coalition to Protect American Workers (CPAW) and covered by Dave Bondy, finds Michigan union household members strongly support key labor reforms including secret ballot protections and limits on election-stalling tactics, with striking bipartisan backing.

Gene Hamilton, Senior Advisor to CPAW, responded to the findings:

"American workers in Michigan are sending a clear message: they want fairness, not manipulation. When two-thirds of union members, including Democrats, say workers deserve a secret ballot free from pressure tactics, that's a mandate. The Biden NLRB spent four years tipping the scales against workers and toward union political machines. These numbers reveal what we all know: the American worker never asked for that. American workers are ready to reward candidates and policymakers who side with them."

Key findings from CPAW's survey of 200 Michigan union household members (conducted Feb. 9–10, 2026):

• 65% of union households support overturning policies that allow union leadership to pressure workers into voting without a secret ballot — including 68% of Democrats.

• 58% support overturning policies that allow union leadership to delay scheduled elections when they believe they may lose — with near-identical support from Democrats (58%) and Republicans (59%).

• 76% of respondents say American workers have more freedoms than workers in other countries — reflecting broad pride in the American labor system even as voters draw a clear line at leadership overreach.

• A critical 20% of union voters are genuinely undecided on which candidates to support based on labor policy positions — the moveable middle that will decide close races in Michigan.

The data reinforce what CPAW has long argued: union households are not a monolith. 

Michigan's union members support the unions that serve them. They do not support union leadership using procedural gamesmanship to override worker voices. Secret ballots, fair elections, and transparency aren't partisan asks — they're basic fairness. And in a battleground state like Michigan, candidates who stand with workers on these reforms have a real opening.

Survey: N=200 Michigan union household members, +/- 6.9% MoE, conducted February 9–10, 2026.