Bad news for union-busters. According to a New York Times/CBS News poll, a majority of Americans oppose stripping public employee unions of collective bargaining rights. The poll also shows that most Americans oppose cutting state worker benefits or salaries in order to fix state budget deficits.

The poll surveyed 984 adults and has a three percentage point margin of error. When asked whether they support "taking away" some collective bargaining rights, 60 percent of respondents said they opposed the idea while 33 percent were in favor. As for benefits and wages, 56 percent opposed reducing them while 37 percent were in favor.

As the Times notes, the poll reflects an increase in support for unions from the support seen in previous polling:

In a 1981 poll, by contrast — soon after President Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers — 60 percent of those surveyed said unions had “too much influence.” Of course, union membership has declined since then.

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John Hudson