Union Organizing and Labor Outreach in the Contemporary United States

Despite their long decline, labor unions increasingly find themselves in the news. From the spirited debate over income inequality, to fights over minimum wage and the unlikely mobilization of fast food workers at the very bottom of the American labor market, labor issues are of great public interest. In this article, I review scholarship on contemporary union organizing and outreach activity. This work suggests that while innovative organizing and outreach strategies, sometimes lumped together under the rubric of “social movement unionism” and “alt‐labor,” are demonstrated to be effective in advancing union causes, only a handful of unions appear to have the will and resources to utilize them. Moreover, while the implementation of new organizing and outreach strategies has been uneven and has not boosted union membership nationally, organized resistance to unions, from court rooms to state legislatures, has increased substantially.     

Unions and social media: Prospects for gender inclusion

The emergence of web 2.0 technologies led to optimistic predictions that social media (SM) might alter traditional gendered patterns of member participation in trade unions. Greene, Hogan, and Grieco and others suggested that the forms of communication and engagement these technologies offered to unions and their members had the potential to foster gender inclusion and contribute to union diversity, arguably central to effective representation. This article reports on a survey of union members’ experiences with and perceptions of their union's SM services, to identify whether there is a gendered dimension to members’ use. The findings indicate that for most union members regardless of gender, more traditional communication channels such as face‐to‐face contact and email remain the preferred means of communication. However, the findings also show that women are just as likely as men, if not more so, to engage with union SM. Given that historically, women largely participated less in union activities than their male counterparts, this broad parity of use by women supports the conclusion that SM has substantial potential to improve women's participation in unions.     

A Research Note on the Stability of Coresidential Unions Formed Postconception

There is a large literature examining the stability of mid‐pregnancy unions, and parallel work on unions formed after a nonmarital birth, but research has yet to compare pre‐ and postbirth unions and simultaneously consider whether the union is with the father or a new partner. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort, the author compares the stability of coresidential unions (cohabitations and marriages) among three groups of mothers with nonunion first conceptions: those with a mid‐pregnancy union with the father (n = 203), those with a postbirth union with the father (n = 333), and those with a union with a new partner (n = 342). Compared to mid‐pregnancy unions with the father, postbirth father unions are 35% more likely to dissolve. New‐partner unions are more likely to dissolve than both types of father unions. These associations persist when accounting for union type and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.     

L’après-communisme et le déclin du syndicalisme à l’Est : leçons de Pologne et d’ailleurs

Trade unions in Eastern Europe have declined in almost all aspects since 1989, due not just to economic restructuring but to subjective factors such as reactions to communist-era legacies and skilled workers’ animosities towards the unskilled, which made union officials themselves skeptical of the value of unions. Starting around the turn of the new century, however, five factors now favor revival: survival imperatives of the union bureaucracy, incorporation into the European Union, emerging cross-border labor solidarity, a new generation of workers, and the end of postcommunism in the firm, or the dismissal of unessential workers, which means union officials no longer need to defend the unskilled. Three obstacles, however, continue to work against union revival: ideological (continued distrust of unions), organizational (plethora of small firms), and structural (location in the global economy). Organized labor is likely to remain weak, with a few stronger unions emerging in the manufacturing sector that are more elitist, male, and less class oriented than those in the past, while unions chiefly in the public sector would flounder. Such an arrangement is not conducive to stable liberal democracy.     

Managerial Hostility and Attitudes Towards Unions: A Canada-US Comparison

We use a cross-country survey of attitudes toward work and unions, which includes a sample of managers in both the US and Canada, to explore whether there is greater attitudinal hostility to unions in the U.S. Our estimates indicate that American manager’s attitudes towards unions are, perhaps surprisingly, less hostile than those of Canadian managers. We explain this first finding by the differential effect of perceived union power, which is greater in Canada than the US and which is correlated negatively with union approval. We also find that US managers are less likely to use extreme methods to oppose union organizing drives, implying that the lower union rates in the US as compared to Canada are not likely the result of greater negativity towards unions themselves but rather some other factor or combination of factors. The implication is that if Canadian managers faced the same labor relations playing field as their US counterparts, they would likely find it easier to thwart union certification drives as well. Alternatively stated, Canadian-style labor relations reforms (such as card-check systems or quicker certification votes) could perhaps tip the balance in favor of unions when organizing in the US.     

An Analysis of Labor Union Participation in U.S. Congressional Hearings

Using both a new data set of labor union appearances in congressional hearings and archival data on union organizational resources, this article analyzes factors that determine whether a labor union will be represented in congressional hearing testimony in a given year. Consistent with the expectations of resource mobilization theory, organizational resources are important predictors of participation in congressional hearings. For example, membership is an important predictor of testimony in hearings, as is the number of lobbyists on staff and the character of a union's primary industry. However, membership in the AFL‐CIO federation is negatively related to hearing participation, and some of the benefits of having a large membership base may be diminishing over time. Implications for the study of interest group politics and organizational political strategies are discussed.     

The impact of labor unions on the passage of economic legislation

This paper examines the political power of labor unions. A model of the decision of an interest group to contribute to a political campaign is developed and tested. The empirical evidence indicates that interest groups, and unions in particular, use political contributions in a systematic and coordinated manner. Unions give money to candidates with relatively little seniority (who might otherwise not be elected) and to candidates from districts with about the average number of union members. Such candidates might otherwise not vote as the union would desire. The influence of campaign contributions and of union membership on the voting of congressmen on issues of interest to unions is also investigated. Union membership is sometimes significant and campaign contributions are always significant in explaining voting on minimum wages, wageprice controls, benefits for strikers, and OSHA and CETA appropriations. The indirect economic effects of labor unions — those effects which occur because unions influence legislation — may be as important as the direct effects which occur through collective bargaining.     

Challenging Misconceptions about Organizing Women into Unions

In many countries, women are the fastest growing group of unionized workers. As unions scramble to restore their flagging membership, women become central to the process of union membership renewal. Yet survey data collected from union organizers in Canada show that unions are only partially meeting women’s demand for union representation, in large part because of gender bias in union organizing practices. To develop this argument, this article offers data analysis that challenges four popular misconceptions about women and unions which contribute to gender bias in union organizing practices. These misconceptions are: women are less likely to support unions than men; high rates of unionization in the public sector rather than women themselves explain the high rates of union growth amongst women; small workplaces are a particular barrier to organizing women and women are more passive and avoid conflict, therefore reducing their likelihood of withstanding a hostile organizing drive. Having challenged these misconceptions, the article concludes with a discussion of the many ways in which union organizing practices are gender biased. Issues discussed range from the limited number of women hired as organizers to the tendency of unions to target small male‐dominated workplaces for organizing, over women‐dominated workplaces, in spite of the latter’s greater likelihood of success.     

The Political and Civic Lives of Public Sector Workers: Unions and “Public Service Motivation”*

Public sector employees are highly engaged in civic and political life, from voting to volunteering. Scholars have theorized that this political activity stems from “public service motivation,” or the selection of publicly oriented individuals into public work. We build on this work by analyzing the role of public sector unions in shaping participation. Unions are central mobilizing organizations in political life, and one in three public sector workers are unionized. Special supplements of the Current Population Survey provide data on various forms of participation, sector, union membership, and union coverage. Logistic regressions find that unionized public sector workers have much higher odds of engaging in a range of activities compared to non‐union public workers, including protest, electoral politics, and political communication. Union membership impacts service work to a lesser extent, suggesting that unions are more central to political lives. These findings have implications for the consequences of union decline, including the class, race, and gender composition of who participates in democratic life.     

Political instrumentality perceptions and desires for union representation

This paper examines the concept of union instrumentality in light of theoretical literature and contemporary trends in union political activity. A broad concept of union instrumentality, including a place for the concept of union political instrumentality (e.g., union influence on general elections or legislation), is suggested. The practical importance and applicability of the political instrumentality concept is demonstrated in empirical models of nonunion worker voting intent in union representation elections. As predicted, workers perceiving higher levels of union political instrumentality are significantly more likely than others to indicate a pro-union voting intent. Given the importance of political versus economic activity as a defining characteristic of labor movements and given recent increases in political activity by U.S. unions, these results have significant implications for the way we think about U.S. unions and for future union organizing and political activities. The author wishes to acknowledge helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper from Mario F. Boganno, Frederic C. Champlin III, William N. Cooke, James A. Craft, John T. Delaney, Richard B. Freeman, Daniel G. Gallagher, Cynthia L. Gramm, Charles R. Greer, Wallace E. Hendricks, Marick F. Masters, Lee P. Stepina, and William A. Wines. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Thirty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association, New York, NY, December 1985.     

American trade unions and public approval: Can unions please all of the people all of the time?

Public opinion about labor unions has long been viewed as an important determinant of industrial relations outcomes. Yet, analyses of changes in union popularity over time have been largely qualitative and have focused on the impact of short-term idiosyncratic events. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of the determinants of American public approval of unions from 1936 to 1991. Hypotheses relating to the union wage advantage, strike activity, the national unemployment rate, and World War II, receive the strongest support. The implications of these results for organized labor and future research on attitudes toward unions are discussed.     

The Mixed Fortunes of Irish Unions: Living with the Paradoxes of Social Partnership

We assess the fortunes of Irish unions since 1980 and, in particular, focus on the period of national social partnership since 1987. We argue that, structurally, unions have been weakened by a sharp decline in union density levels. In addition, labor law reform has not been as permissive as unions desired. However, on the other hand, we highlight that union membership in Ireland has never been higher and unions exert a strong influence over many areas of government policy. In conclusion, we argue that continuing with social partnership is the most viable option for Irish unions, though significant gains in union power are unlikely to happen.     

Union presence and executive compensation: An exploratory study

While executive compensation has historically attracted considerable attention and controversy, this issue is becoming increasingly more contentious as organizations attempt to cut labor costs through reengineering and downsizing. Unions, governments, and workers are becoming critical of seemingly excessive executive compensation while employees are asked to make concessions. In fact, many labor organizations are specif-ically targeting executive compensation for criticisms: Witness their web sites tracking executive pay and numerous press releases and public statements. However, do unions, through their presence in a firm, affect executive compensation? While there is con-siderable research on the determinants and correlates of executive compensation, the literature is silent on the role of unions. We investigate the distinctive effects of union presence with data on a sample of Canadianbased metalmining firms. The differences between union and nonunion firms, as well as the unique effects of union presence, are analyzed and future research suggested.     

The union image: Concept,programs and analysis

Several key labor leaders have expressed the need to improve the public image of unions. This paper defines the core elements of the current negative image and describes factors contributing to it. The basic direct and indirect approaches employed by unions to improve their image are systematically presented. It is concluded that prospects for image change are minimal due to limited image building efforts overall, lack of strategic thrust and union coordination, limited understanding of the nature of the image, and virtually no evaluation of image building efforts.     

Unionization decisions of members and nonmembers of an employee association

The determinants of intent to unionize were investigated using the responses of 405 employees of a large public university, 243 of whom were members of an employee association. Members and nonmembers indicated significantly different levels of union vote intent, general beliefs, specific beliefs, and normative pressures. They also used a different union vote decision model. General beliefs about unions appear to play a significantly greater role in unionization decision of nonmembers. On the other hand, while considering unionization, specific beliefs about unions were significantly more important for association members. Association members were less likely to vote for unionization.     

Compensation,employment, and the political activity of public employee unions

It has been hypothesized that because public employee unions are politically influential, they have a bargaining advanatage over their private-sector counterparts. Previous studies, however, have not directly measured the political activities of public employee unions and have instead usually used some type of unionization proxy. This paper uses unpublished data from the International City Managers Association to develop a more direct measure of union political activity. Using this measure, it is found that an increase in union political activity leads to higher compensation and employment for public employee union members.     

The long-run and short-run impacts of global competition on U.S. union wages

Union opposition to trade liberalizing agreements suggests that international trade harms organized labor. Using union contract data, we assess both long- and short-run impacts of international trade on U.S. collective bargaining outcomes. Results indicate that, in the short run, increases in either imports or exports reduce union wages. This is attributed to risk aversion on the part of both unions and management. In the long run, however, trade has little net impact on average union wage settlements. In forming their opposition to more open U.S. trade policies, unions appear more concerned with short-run impacts of trade and are willing to trade-off immediate wage gains in lieu of future employment possibilities. We thank Dan Rickman, Bill Levernier, and the anonymous referee for their useful comments.     

The future of public sector collective bargaining in Canada

Conclusion Looking to the future of Canadian public sector labor relations, the glass is half full. Despite regular intervals when government fiscal and economic policy “trump” public sector bargaining rights through legislation, public sector unions and collective bargaining will survive. Public sector compensation and job security will likely continue to be at least comparable to the unionized private sector, and public sector union density should remain stable, at or near its currently high levels.     

A Feminist Trade Union Agenda? The Continued Significance of Class,Gender and Race

During the 1990s attempts to identify a feminist trade union agenda have focused on both the content and process of such a potential agenda. In a period in which trade unions have changed significantly, the general national agenda appears to be changing, acknowledging issues of importance to women. UNISON, Britain's largest trade union, has enshrined proportionality and fair representation in its constitution, developing national initiatives aimed at improving opportunities in work and in the union for women, black workers, manual workers, disabled workers, etc. who traditionally have been less well represented. Many issues affecting women generally have moved to centre stage, yet issues affecting women ancillary workers seem as excluded as ever. Through a study of cleaners in the National Health Service this article argues that workplace interests reflect wider social divisions, but in a variety of patterns depending on the social organization of work. Despite thewidening trade union agenda, particular interests — more specifically the workplace interests of working‐class women and black women — continue to be neglected.     

Private sector unions: The myth of decline

Conventional wisdom holds that private sector labor unions are in “crisis” due to the loss of millions of members over the past two decades which has resulted in a dramatic decline in their economic viability and political power. Financial data for selected years between 1960 and 1987 are analyzed to show that, contrary to prevailing opinion, private sector unions are financially prosperous despite membership erosion. Evidence is also presented which indicates that union political efforts and influence have increased rather than declined in recent years. Resources have been allocated to political advocacy to obtain a more favorable public policy environment for labor organizations and to achieve gains that have eluded unions in collective bargaining. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Ms. Sybil Jones at the National Institute for Labor Relations Research.