The popularityof labor unions surged over the past decade, while American sentiment toward big business has fallen, according to new data published by the liberal Economic Policy Institute.
Why it matters: The approval switcheroo helps explain, in part, why the Republican Party has been courting labor unions in recent years.
Zoom in: For the past 60 years, American National Election Studies has been surveying Americans, asking them to rate their feelings toward labor unions and big business.
Up until 2012, sentiment moved together, but in the recovery from the Global Financial Crisis things changed.