Decline In Union Membership Research Articles

Decline in Union Membership and New Roles of Unions in Korea －From Social Psychology Perspective－

Decline in Union Membership and New Roles of Unions in Korea －From Social Psychology Perspective－

The Impact of Union Corruption on Union Membership

This paper examines the relationship between union corruption actions and union membership. State-level data from the Office of Labor-Management Standards, and other sources, are utilized over two study periods (1974-2000 and 2001- 2008) to test three hypotheses, including the union corruption hypothesis, as pos­sible explanations for the decline in union membership in the United States over time. Although our initial findings suggest a negative relationship exists between union corruption and membership, after removing the possibility of simultaneous equations bias, we find that changes in corruption do not influence changes in union membership in our sample.

Changing employment relation systems in Japan: cases of the Mitsubishi Chemical Group and the Federation of Shinkin Banks

Over the past decade or so a number of changes have been observed in traditional Japanese employment relations (ERs) systems such as an increase in non-regular workers, a move towards performance-based systems and a continuous decline in union membership. There is a large body of Anglo-Saxon and Japanese literature providing evidence that national factors such as national institutions, national culture, and the business and economic environment have significantly influenced what were hitherto three ‘sacred’ aspects of Japanese ERs systems (ERSs). However, no research has been undertaken until now at the firm level regarding the extent to which changes in national factors influence ERSs across firms. This article develops a model to examine the impact of national factors on ER systems; and analyses the impact of national factors at the firm level ER systems. Based on information collected from two different groups of companies, namely Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG) and Federation of Shinkin Bank (FSB) the research finds that except for a few similarities, the impact of national factors is different on Japanese ER systems at the firm level. This indicates that the impact of national factors varies in the implementation of employment relations factors. In the case of MCG, national culture has less to do with seniority-based system. Study also reveals that the national culture factors have also less influence on an enterprise-based system in the case of FSB. This analysis is useful for domestic and international organizations as it helps to better understand the role of national factors in determining Japanese ERSs.

Labor and the Bush Administration: “down so long, seem like up to me”

For a century, scholars and labor movement activists have debated the question of “American Exceptionalism,” or the distinctive nature of the labor movement in the United States. The weakness of American unions, especially their lack of members, has been attributed to distinctive features of American society, notably the hostility of the American government towards unions. Those who accept this Exceptionalist view have urged unions in the United States to become more active politically in order to strengthen their position. Since 1980, unions have followed this advice and have doubled their political spending. Most of the unions’ political activity and spending has been in support of candidates of the Democratic Party; but unions have received little in return from Democrats, even during the Clinton Administration. Indeed, during the administration of George W. Bush, union membership fell at almost exactly the same rate as before notwithstanding the Bush Administration’s open hostility towards unions and its attempt to use state power against unions in both the private and public sectors. In fact, over the last decades, we may be seeing the end of Exceptionalism. Since 1990, union membership decline has been slower in the United States than in most other OECD member states, despite a relatively hostile political and legal regime. Combined with the negligible effect of the Bush Administration on American unions, this suggests that union weakness in the United States is not due to exceptional features of the United States but to characteristics it shares with other countries. Throughout the affluent world, the idea of the labor movement has lost its tie to the broader democratic aspirations. In America and elsewhere, union revival depends on more than some incremental legal changes or political victories. It depends on the revival of the formative ideals of the labor movement, equality, fraternity, and the struggle for free and democratic work.

Learning and adapting for organisational change: researching union education in Australia

The last quarter century saw a restructuring of employment, production and trade and a dramatic decline in union membership and density levels. There are many explanations for this, including the hostile industrial relations framework imposed by many governments, but there have been other factors such as the growth of new non-unionised industries that often rely on casualised labour; new attitudes to unions by younger workers; a political/cultural decline in the workers' movement under neo-liberalism; and an inability by many unions to adapt to these changes. Now dramatic economic changes arising from the global financial crisis that will see increased unemployment and further industry restructuring, along with the restructuring and re-skilling implications of climate change, pose new challenges for trade unions. Drawing on research with senior Australian union officials about the movement's education and training activities this paper considers the relevance of the adaptive systems literature for understanding the operational environments facing unions as they become larger more complex organisations. It considers the existing suite of education activities with reference to Illeris' tension field and the literature of union renewal that emphasises the need to develop new solidarities and therefore a broader conception of education, learning and development.

Union organizing effort and success in the U.S., 1948–2004

While union density in the public sector has increased in recent decades, private sector union density in the U.S. has declined steadily since the mid-1950s. Scholars have evoked a variety of explanations to account for the decline in union membership, but substantially less attention has been devoted to understanding the contribution of the union organizing process as governed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In this paper, we focus on two aspects of this process: union organizing effort (the effort to establish union representation elections to organize non-unionized workers) and union organizing success (success in winning union representation elections). Using annual time series data for the U.S. from 1948 to 2004, we show that there has been a long-term decline in both union organizing effort and union organizing success, which likely contributes to declining union density. We focus on three explanations for these changes: the political–legal environment for unions, deindustrialization and globalization, and employer opposition to unionization efforts. We find that each of these factors contributes to organizing effort and success and conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research for future mobilization efforts.

Unions in crisis?: the future of organized labor in America

Unionism in the United States was quite successful during and after World War II, especially during the golden years of American capitalism (1947-73) as workers' wages increased quite dramatically in a number of industries. For example, average hourly earnings for workers in meatpacking rose 114% between 1950 and 1965, those in steel 102%, in rubber tires by 96%, and in manufacturing 81%. At the same time as union members' wages were increasing, union membership was declining. Yet, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) argued that organizing new members was not a priority. By concentrating on the existing membership and bread-and-butter issues, and not organizing new members, unionism could not deal with the attack on the social contract by employers and the government beginning in the United States in the late 1970s. However, while many people are claiming that organized labor is a dinosaur, Schiavone argues that a strong union movement is needed now more than ever. Unionism in the United States was quite successful during and after World War II, especially during the golden years of American capitalism (1947-73) as workers' wages increased quite dramatically in a number of industries. For example, average hourly earnings for workers in meatpacking rose 114% between 1950 and 1965, those in steel 102%, in rubber tires by 96%, and in manufacturing 81%. At the same time as union members' wages were increasing, union membership was declining. Yet, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) argued that organizing new members was not a priority. By concentrating on the existing membership and bread-and-butter issues, and not organizing new members, unionism could not deal with the attack on the social contract by employers and the government beginning in the United States in the late 1970s. Following that attack, there was a significant decline in U.S. workers' wages and conditions in real terms, and there was a corresponding decline in union membership. However, while many people are claiming that organized labor is a dinosaur, Schiavone argues that a strong union movement is now needed more than ever. If unions make major changes as outlined in this book, the U.S. labor movement may regain some of its strength. By fighting for workplace (such as higher wages) and non-workplace issues (such as the fight for adequate childcare or against racism), unions in America and Canada that embraced what Schiavone calls social justice unionism have improved society for all. On purely bread-and-butter issues, these unions have achieved better collective bargaining agreements than their rival mainstream unions, as well as organizing more new workers per capita. How much strength organized labor will regain by embracing social justice unionism is uncertain, but it is a beginning.

Union Membership Decline in New Zealand, 1990—2002

This article uses individual-level data from the New Zealand Election Study surveys to analyse trade union membership decline between 1990 and 2002. The abrupt decline in union density during the first two-and-a-half years of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 was concentrated almost entirely in the private and mixed/non-profit sectors, and was sharpest among workers in the secondary labour market. Across 1990—2002, compositional change (i.e. change in the structure of the economy and workforce) and attitudinal change, as captured in our analysis, had little impact on union density decline. Most of the decline in density explained in this analysis can be attributed to within-group behavioural change. A number of explanations are discussed. The findings are consistent with the thesis that the sharp decline in union membership under the Employment Contracts Act 1991 was largely due to receding union reach, resulting in the current unfulfilled demand for union membership reported elsewhere.

Research Note: Identifying the Invisible Colleges of the British Journal of Industrial Relations: A Bibliometric and Social Network Approach

The academic field of industrial relations has gone through much change in the last 20 years. On account of the rapid decline in union membership in the USA and the UK, industrial relations, which historically has focused on the employment relationship, has been searching for a new intellectual base. By conducting a bibliometric analysis of the journal British Journal of Industrial Relations (BJIR), we uncover the intellectual bases for that publication outlet for two time periods, 1986–1995 and 1996–2005. From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, BJIR's articles relied on the economics literature, while in the later period, it moved to the human resource and management journals, authors and articles. The possible explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.

Si, Se Puede: Organizing Latino Immigrant Workers in South Omaha’s Meatpacking Industry

Faced with declining union membership and a growing immigrant workforce, the US labor movement has started to realize the importance of organizing immigrant workers. Yet the conventional wisdom among many within the movement is that immigrant workers are “unorganizable.” Based on a case study of a collaborative effort between the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Omaha Together, One Community to organize an estimated 4,000 Latino immigrant meatpacking workers, I demonstrate not only the “organizability” of immigrant workers, but also the fact that they have been organizing themselves, with the help of a community-based organization, in the absence of union efforts. This case study suggests that in order to facilitate successful organizing campaigns among immigrant workers, unions need to reach out to community-based organizations and institutions that have established relationships with immigrant workers.

The AFL-CIO Split: Does It Really Matter?

In 2005, the AFL-CIO split and the Change to Win Coalition (CtW) was founded because of the personal ambition of dissident union leaders and their frustration with the severe and continuing decline in union membership. The CtW was build on a shared faith that only afresh start could lead the unions out of their crisis. But a convincing case has not been made that the seceding unions would be more successful outside of AFL-CIO. When it is seen against the backdrop of the crisis in the labor movement and the enormity of the task of union organizing and revival, the AFL-CIO split does not really matter.

Has Globalisation Really had no Effect on Unions?

SUMMARYFor a number of OECD countries, the deterioration of labour market outcomes for less‐skilled workers since the early 1980s has coincided with a steady decline in union membership. Globalisation is commonly believed to have contributed to both developments. However, recent studies fail to find support for the presumption that globalisation adversely affects unions. Revisiting this issue by using a novel globalisation index we find that globalisation has indeed contributed to deunionisation. In delving further into the issue, we find that it is social integration, rather than economic or political integration, that has been the main contributor to the decline in union membership.

Has Globalisation Really had no Effect on Unions

SUMMARY For a number of OECD countries, the deterioration of labour market outcomes for less-skilled workers since the early 1980s has coincided with a steady decline in union membership. Globalisation is commonly believed to have contributed to both developments. However, recent studies fail to find support for the presumption that globalisation adversely affects unions. Revisiting this issue by using a novel globalisation index we find that globalisation has indeed contributed to deunionisation. In delving further into the issue, we find that it is social integration, rather than economic or political integration, that has been the main contributor to the decline in union membership.

Unions, Voter Turnout, and Class Bias in the U.S. Electorate, 1964–2004

This paper uses individual-level data to examine the impact of unions on turnout and assesses the consequences of dramatic changes in union strength and in the composition of union membership since 1964 for the composition of the U.S. electorate. We first estimate individual-level models to test for the distinct effects of union membership and union strength on the probabilities of members and nonmembers voting and then test whether the effect of individual union membership and overall union strength varies across income levels. We find that unions increase turnout of both members and nonmembers. By simulating what turnout would be were union membership at its 1964 level, we show that the decline in union membership since 1964 has affected the aggregate turnout of both low- and middle-income individuals more than the aggregate turnout of high-income individuals. However, while class bias has increased as a consequence of the decline, the change is surprisingly small.

Right-to-Work Laws and Manufacturing Employment: The Importance of Spatial Dependence

[Author Affiliation]Charlene M Kalenkoski, Department of Economics, Ohio University, Bentley Annex 351, Athens, OH 45701, USA; kalenkos@ohio.eduDonald J Lacombe, Department of Economics, Ohio University, Bentley Annex 345, Athens, OH 45701, USA; lacombe@ohio.edu; corresponding author[Acknowledgment]The authors gratefully acknowledge invaluable comments from Barry Hirsch, Jim LeSage, and an anonymous reviewer, and would also like to thank Tatevik Sekhposyan and Nicholas Prala for their excellent research assistance.1. IntroductionRight-to-work (RTW) laws prohibit the requirement that a person become a union member as a condition of employment. Such a prohibition, if effective, raises the cost of union organizing activity, leading to a decline in union membership and thus in union bargaining power. To the extent that this reduction in the bargaining power of unions occurs, firms considering locating in an RTW state may expect lower wages and a more favorable business climate than would be the case in a non-RTW state, leading to greater employment in RTW states, all else equal. Therefore, it is important to determine whether these laws are effective.Many studies have documented a negative correlation between RTW laws and unionization rates, suggesting that RTW laws do indeed decrease unionization rates, although some of this correlation is thought to be due to negative public perceptions of unions in right-to-work states rather than the effect of the laws themselves. There have also been a few studies that have investigated the effects of RTW legislation on the level of and growth in manufacturing employment, but the results of these studies are mixed, with the results hinging on the particular econometric specification used. A regression of the manufacturing employment share on an RTW dummy variable often suffers from omitted variable bias, and each study attempts to deal with this bias differently. Potential omitted variables are climate, soil quality, the availability of natural and labor resources, infrastructure, and public attitudes toward unions and business, all of which are thought to be determinants of employment but are not easily measured. If public attitudes are probusiness, then omitting measures of public attitudes may positively bias the RTW coefficient. This is because probusiness attitudes may lead both to passage of RTW legislation and to other probusiness policies that increase employment. Another example may be the percentage of the population that consists of recent immigrants. Businesses that employ recent immigrants may be more likely to vote for RTW legislation and may employ more people. In addition, there may also be spatial correlation in the errors, because these omitted variables are likely correlated across counties. Weather, resources, infrastructure, and public attitudes usually do not change abruptly at political borders, and therefore these omitted factors would necessarily be geographically correlated. Another possibility is that manufacturing employment itself may be correlated across counties as a result of agglomeration economies, which are cost savings that result when firms locate in close proximity to one another. For example, firms may locate close to bodies of water such as rivers to take advantage of natural shipping routes, and any variables associated with firm activities would be geographically correlated. Finally, measurement error is also a possibility if the relevant unit of measurement is the city but we are measuring our variable at the county level.1 The potential presence of omitted variables bias and spatial dependence and the techniques used to address them are the primary concern of this paper.As will be seen in the literature review below, manufacturing has been the primary industry of interest with respect to analyzing the effects of RTW legislation because of the high percentage of manufacturing workers that are unionized. …

Business union vs. business union? Understanding the split in the US labour movement

In summer 2005, the US trade union movement formalised its split into two rival confederations. The split was precipitated by the 2001 disaffiliation of the carpenters' union, the Republican electoral victory of 2004, and the decline in union membership. Seven unions, accounting for forty per cent of the membership of the Afl—CIO, formed Change to Win as a response to that federation's ineffectiveness. This article concludes that the split may lead to new techniques for campaigning, but that it will not affect the fortunes or the social vision of the trade union movement.

Communist Legacies, Postcommunist Transformations, and the Fate of Organized Labor in Russia and China

This study aims to generate fresh hypotheses concerning emergent variations in labor politics across postcomunist settings. Although labor may be weak throughout the postcommunist world, a historical comparison of labor politics in Russia and China reveals consequential differences in the extent and sources of union weakness. Taking these differences seriously, the study asks why organized labor in Russia—in spite of a steeper decline in union membership, greater fragmentation, and a conspicuously low level of militancy—wasrelatively more effective in advancing working-class interests during economic liberalization than the growing, organizationally unified trade union apparatus in China. The comparisons suggest that some constraints on organized labor are more malleable than others, allowing for openins where labor can affect outcomes in ways that surprise, if not scare, state and business. Specifically, key differences in historical legacies and in the pace and ynamics of institutional transformation have conferred upon Russian unions key organizational, material, and symbolic resources that Chinese unions do not possess to the same degree. These differences reflect mechanisms capable of generating increasingly divergent prospects for organized labor mobilization over long-time horizons.

Erosion of the Ghent System and Union Membership Decline: Lessons from Finland

Union density declined in Finland by more than 10 percentage points in less than 10 years. This paper analyses the reasons behind the decline, using micro data from the 1990s. According to our results, the changes in the composition of the labour force and the changes in the labour market explain only about a quarter of this decline. The main reason for the decline appears to be the erosion of the Ghent system, due to the emergence of an independent unemployment insurance fund that provides unemployment insurance without requiring union membership. We also find that the decline in the union density can be attributed to the declining inclination of the cohorts born after the early 1960s to become union members.

Skilled Hands, Strong Spirits: A Century of Building Trades History

If industrial unions have received considerable attention from labor historians in recent decades, the same cannot be said about the study of craft unionism in the twentieth century. It would appear that the building trades, many of them “lily white,” do not fit comfortably into the historical narrative under construction. Grace Palladino's commissioned history of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor is therefore a welcome addition to the scholarship. The book follows the evolution of the building trades department. Part 1, “Erecting the Structure,” examines the forty-year effort to build the department. Part 2, “Government Matters,” looks at the role of the state in regulating the building trades during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as the immediate postwar period. The final part, “Reorganizing the Future,” looks at the sharp decline in union membership during the 1970s and 1980s and at the building trades' belated efforts to organize in the 1990s.

Has Globalisation Really Had No Effect on Unions?

For a number of OECD countries, the deterioration of labour market outcomes for less-skilled workers since the early 1980s has coincided with a steady decline in union membership. Globalisation is commonly believed to have contributed to both developments. However, recent studies fail to find support for the presumption that globalisation adversely affects unions. Revisiting this issue by using a novel globalisation index we find that globalisation has indeed contributed to deunionisation. In delving further into the issue, we find that it is social integration, rather than economic or political integration, that has been the main contributor to the decline in union membership.