A looming flip-flop on support for unions?

How odd that these two stories came across in the same Google Alert.

First: Californians are unhappy with unions; does it matter? 

Now, a new Field Poll finds Californians are souring on labor unions. The state has traditionally been fairly pro-organized labor, but there's been a marked decline in public opinion over the last two years, according to the independent survey of 1,000 voters.

In March 2011, 46% of voters surveyed felt that labor unions overall did more good than harm, while 35% said they did more harm than good.

The newest survey found 45% believe unions do more harm than good -- a 10-percentage-point increase. The results were pretty much the same for public employee unions and private sector unions.

And then there was this: The South finally coming around on benefits of unions

Ultimately, the workers in Chattanooga (Tenn.) make the decision whether to have union representation and a council, and the UAW announced in September that a majority of VW workers had already signed union cards. But as so often is the case when workers demonstrate interest in a union, anti-worker ideologues make it their business to impede the internal business operations and labor relations of companies.

The anti-union sect appears to be motivated by the concern that once one Southern auto plant organizes, it would create a domino effect of workers organizing in the South, particularly at the nearby Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., and at Mercedes-Benz in Vance, Ala.

In California, this is to be expected. It's a pro-union state, with some families in their third, fourth and fifth generation of union membership. They are used to higher wages and on-the-job benefits. They think they get these things because their employers love them. Not really, without unions they would be working 10 hours days for $4 per hour (or less). The union is some outside entity brought in to negotiate their contract.

In th4e south, they've simply started waking up and realizing that management will pay them as little as possible, and that joining a union is the best thing they can do to improve wages and conditions. And they are realizing that if their neighbors in other trades also join unions, they better off THEY will be do.