> Although it isn't mentioned by Pew, I suspect one big thing that happened in
> the last two years was the Big 3 bailout/bankruptcy/clunker sale. I think
> that left a bad taste in all kinds of ways which, fairly or not, was
> associated mainly with unions.
Yep. Although it might be comforting to believe that a drop in Dem favorability numbers for unions is attributable to progressive criticism of actual-existing unions, unfortunately I don't think this is the case. Seems pretty clear to me that the drop is related to the economy, and there have been a plethora of stories about unions not sharing the pain, especially public sector workers. Goes without saying that the belief that unions are only out for themselves, and a sinking tide should affect all equally (i.e. unions need to make concessions) is scarcely a progressive position.