Poll: Oklahomans view pensions, public sector employees and their associations very favorably
The most recent SoonerPoll finds that Oklahomans view public sector employees very favorably, including their public pension programs and their associations.
“At some point throughout the year, every Oklahoman will interact with or be affected by the work of our state or local government employees,” said Bill Shapard, CEO of SoonerPoll.com. “How the electorate views those who perform the work of our government is important to the overall health of our democracy.”
A solid 74 percent of likely voting Oklahomans viewed state and local government employees favorably, with 12 percent having no opinion and only 13.9 percent unfavorably. The pensions or retirement programs used by public sector employees in Oklahoma were also viewed favorably by 60 percent of Oklahomans, 23.1 percent had no opinion and 17 percent unfavorable.
The associations of public sector employees also fared well. The firefighters’ association received the highest combined favorable rating of 79.9 percent, followed by the Oklahoma Nurses Association at 66 percent and the teachers’ associations at 61.8 percent.
Further results revealed that 73.3 percent of Republicans and 69.7 percent of Independents view state and local government employees favorably, as well as 75.5 percent of Democrats.
A majority of Oklahomans from all three parties also viewed Oklahoma’s public pensions favorably with 63.5 percent of Democrats, 54.5 percent of Republicans, and 66.7 percent of Independents.
SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster, was commissioned by the Keep Oklahoma’s Promises Coalition to conduct the survey. The scientific study was conducted from February 1-8, 2014 with 400 likely Oklahoma voters selected at random statewide from a dual frame of both landline telephone and cell phones. The sample was weighted by age, race, congressional district and landline/cell phone usage, and stratified using a model of likely voters.
The sample reflected the traditional demographical profile of the Oklahoma likely voter with roughly half of respondents identifying as conservative and attending religious services once or more per week. The study has a margin of error of ±4.9 percent.
About the Poll
SoonerPoll.com conducted the scientific survey from February 1-8, 2014 with 400 likely Oklahoma voters selected at random statewide from a dual frame of both landline telephone and cell phones. The sample was weighted by age, race, congressional district and landline/cell phone usage, and stratified using a model of likely voters. The poll was commissioned by the Keep Oklahoma's Promises Coalition. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. For smaller subgroups, the margin of sampling error is larger.
This poll conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. A complete description of the methodology can be found here.
