Do union organizing activities affect decertification?

This paper tests the hypothesis that unions face a trade-off between retaining organized units and organizing new bargaining units. Using cost-benefit analysis, a model is developed which examines the impact of representation elections on the level of decertification activity for the period 1948 to 1979. The results indicate that as unions increase their efforts to organize more employees, they trade-off a loss of membership through decertification. The shift of resources from servicing existing units to organizing new units causes a sufficient change in the benefit/cost ratio for employees to result in loss of union certification.     

Majority voting rules and the union success rate in national labor relations board representation elections

This paper simulates how the union success rate in representation elections would be affected if the NLRB reverted from its current simple-majority voting rule to its original majority-in-unit voting rule. Such a rule change would have altered 21 percent of decertification and 16 percent of certification victories over the period 1977–81, resulting in the loss of 180,400 actual or potential bargaining unit members for the union movement. Abstentions play an important role in election outcomes. Under the present voting rule unions have no clear advantage to “get out the vote” in decertification elections, but a clear disadvantage in certification elections. Under a majority-in-unit rule unions hold an advantage when they “get out the vote” in all representation elections. I would like to thank Mike Bognanno, Jim Dworkin, Paul Schumann, two reviewers, and the editor for helpful comments and David Wilson for excellent research assistance. I would also like to thank the NLRB for providing the election data tape.     

Equity market response to union decertification petitions and elections

The effect of union decertification elections on the valuation of corporations is examined using a standard event study methodology. Cumulative abnormal daily common stock returns for 203 NYSE and AMEX listed firms are estimated for the day on which a petition for a decertification election is filed and for the day on which the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certifies the decertification election outcome. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that successful union decertifications increase firm valuation and unsuccessful ones reduce firm valuation. The primary carrier of valuation information is the date the NLRB confirms the decertification election results. The petition file date yields little, if any, information about the firm’s capitalization. The authors thank the directors of the regional NLRB offices and the editor of this journal for their assistance. The usual caveats concerning errors and omissions apply. Correspondence should be directed to William L. Huth.     

Determinants of the decertification process: Evidence from employer-initiated elections

There have been relatively few studies on why workers choose to decertify a union as their bargaining unit and virtually no empirical studies on the outcomes of employer-initiated representation elections. Using data from the NLRB monthly election reports (1977–1981), we attempt to analyze the factors that seem to influence the outcomes of employer-initiated representation elections with an incumbent union. Variables in our analysis include size of the election unit, region, industrial classification, type of incumbent union, and the state of the local economy. While the data show a concentration of elections on the West Coast, there is no significant difference in the ability of unions there to “win” decertification elections.     

The influence of macroeconomic variables on the probability of union decertification

This study focuses on the role macroeconomic factors play in explaining the proportion of decertification elections lost by the union movement in the postwar period. Previous research has neglected the importance of such macroeconomic variables. Our results indicate that the union-nonunion wage differential, inflation, strikes, state of the labor market, and union density are related to the phenomenon of decertification. The authors would like to thank Greg Hundley, Mike Bognanno, Paul Schumann, Jim Scoville, the editor, and a reviewer for valuable comments and Michael Wachter and William Wascher for providing some unpublished data.     

Success in multiple union elections: Exclusive jurisdiction vs. competition

We consider union success in certification elections where more than one union appears on the election ballot. While union victory rates in single union elections have remained well below 50 percent over the past ten years, we find that unions have been much more successful in multiple union certification elections, with win rates of as high as 90 percent during certain years. We present two theories of union success in multiple union elections and offer relevant empirical results.     

Representation type and union success in certification elections

Many different variables have been used to predict union certification election success; however, none of the studies has explored the impact of representation type. Using NLRB election data for the period from April 1980 through September 1990, we found that affiliation of a local union with the AFL-CIO was detrimental to the success rate of unions in single union and contested certification elections. We offer preliminary interpretations based on fundamental economic themes often applied to collective choice and conclude with implications for union organizing policy. The authors thank Michael Nelson for helpful suggestions and Matthew Harris for research assistance.     

Union decertification election outcomes: Bargaining unit characteristics and union resources

Previous analysis using aggregate data has concluded that union decertification activity is “exclusively a product of market conditions.” We employ data disaggregated by local (county) labor market which permits a preliminary investigation of the importance of potential nonmarket influences that are not measurable using aggregate data, namely, the type of bargaining unit, the type of union, the type of employer, and proxies for union resources. It also allows a more precise specification of the labor market characteristics previously found to influence decertification. Our results confirm the importance of market conditions in decertification activity and outcomes, but they also suggest that the likelihood of decertification is much greater in independent unions and in industry-county combinations in which the typical employee works part-time and has limited alternative income opportunities. Institutional characteristics of the union and employer, individual characteristics of bargaining unit members, and local economic conditions are important determinants of decertification.     

Strategic, sincere, and heuristic voting under four election rules: an experimental study

We report on laboratory experiments on voting. In a setting where subjects have single-peaked preferences, we find that the rational choice theory provides very good predictions of actual individual behavior in one-round and approval voting elections but fares poorly in explaining vote choice under two-round elections. We conclude that voters behave strategically as far as strategic computations are not too demanding, in which case they rely on simple heuristics (under two-round voting) or they just vote sincerely (under single transferable vote).     

The effects of management practices on union election returns

This paper examines the importance of management suppression tactics on union activity in the United States. NLRB data on individual certification elections which have recently become available for the period 1972–1976 are merged with structural, demographic, and industry characteristics of the 96 largest SMSAs to ascertain the role of strategy versus structure in explaining union outcomes. The measures of election-generated membership outcomes are voter participation, the margin of pro-union votes, and union wins. Union suppression practices under study include consent elections, election delays, formal objections after unions win a certification election, elections overruled because of management unfair labor practices, elections held by management petition, and the number of unfair labor practice charges per representation election. Five of the six measures of suppression are significant determinants of some facet of union expansion after adjusting for structural characteristics of the area work force.     

Predicting the decisions to vote and support unions in certification elections: An integrated perspective

This article develops and empirically tests a model of the dual decision-making process employees undergo to guide their behavior during organizing campaigns and elections. The model combines principles of risk-aversion theory with more traditional views that election decisions stem from cost-benefit analyses of union representation. Previous research lacks this integrated approach to the study of election behavior. Regression analyses on a sample of approximately 16,000 certification elections strongly supported the use of risk-aversion theory to predict employees’ willingness to formally participate in elections. Furthermore, we found that time exhibited a statistically significant, negative relationship with voting participation rates, the percentage of union votes, and union victories. The results also indicated that a saturation effect may exist for delays in the election process. Financial support for this research was provided by the Syracuse University Research Fund. The authors wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful suggestions that significantly improved the paper.     

Just-in-space: Certified rural products, labor of quality, and regulatory spaces

Since the mid-1990s, the number and diversity of ‘quality-certified’ products has increased dramatically. This article examines labor practices and regulatory spaces within 3rd party quality certification and suggests that this distinct configuration be termed ‘just-in-space’ production. A privileging of space derives, on the one hand, from the character of qualities certified. ‘Extrinsic’ qualities, such as biodiversity conservation or fair-trade labor practices, may only be introduced into the commodity through monitoring of labor at the point of production and along the commodity chain to retailer venues. This monitoring, accomplished via inspections and document production on a track that parallels the commodity movement, occurs within a semi-public space and results in an uneasy tension between a social interest in open inspections of ecological and socially-just production and retailer interest in controlling certification information about ‘green’ products. At the same time, transnational institutional regulation of certification (e.g., ISO), together with popular support for quality certification, limits the power of retailers and activists to alter certification practices and sustains the semi-public character of this space. Using a literature review and research on certified organic coffee, this paper examines practical and theoretical implications of just-in-space production, and concludes that while this configuration facilitates public action in support of social-justice and environmental conservation, it is also susceptible to manipulation by large retail firms that chose to evade 3rd party certification by setting up private certifications.     

Environmental certification of forests: The evolution of environmental governance in a commodity network

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) influence social and environmental aspects of commodity production through certification schemes like organic and forest certification. As these become mainstream, however, they are often compromised by the interests of more powerful agents. Utilizing the concept of governance in global commodity networks, this article examines the mainstreaming of forest certification. By working with retailers, forest certification expanded rapidly. The retailer focus, however, limits the spread of forest certification among medium-sized, small, and community forest management operations. It also raises questions of fairness because it imposes costs on forest managers without providing compensation through higher prices. NGOs now implement programs to make Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification more accessible and more useful to forest managers, but these do not resolve the imbalance of power between the big retailers demanding certification and the small forest managers who must absorb increased costs. The dominance of big retailers in commodity networks provides an attractive route to rapidly mainstream certification schemes, but it also limits their reach and compromises their equity.     

Voluntary Associations Within the Local Political Context: How Characteristics of the Organizations and the Local Governments Influence Perceptions of Success

A cornerstone of democracy is the capacity of citizens to influence political decisions either through elections or by making their will known in the periods between elections. The aim of the present study is twofold: (1) to explore what factors inherent of the voluntary associations that determine the perceived success in their attempts to influence policy and (2) to investigate what role the composition of the local government have on the perceived success. This study is based on a survey conducted among 404 local voluntary associations in four different municipalities in Sweden. The results show that the frequency contacts influence perceived success positively, while the level of civic engagement of the voluntary associations affected the perceived success negatively. Having a heterogeneous local government also contributed positively to the perceived success to influence policy.     

South/non-south differentials in national labor relations board certification election outcomes: Comment

A recent study of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certification elections concluded that there are no regional differences in the probability of unionization. This paper suggests that it is inappropriate to draw such broad inferences from NLRB data, since elections occur only where an initial preference for unionism has been expressed. Using a national data set on private sector hospitals, we demonstrate that Southern location significantly reduces the probability of having an election and the probability of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, but it does not affect the probability of a union election victory. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the authors’ institutions. We would like to thank Peter Feuille and James Kuhn for helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

Trust, tenure insecurity, and land certification in rural Ethiopia

This paper assesses the impact of a land certification program in Ethiopia on the level of interpersonal and institutional trust among households in the Amhara region. The land certification program is designed to enhance land tenure security of farmers, by maintaining (egalitarian) status quo land distribution and equity concerns. The major contribution of the analysis lies in the exogenous nature of the program which addresses the endogeneity problems that characterize related studies, assessing the impact of policy related variables on trust. The effects of the land certification program on trust are identified both by the difference-in-difference approach and by non-parametrical analysis of average treatment effects. Overall trust is found to be enhanced by the certification program, with trust towards formal institutions being more responsive to the program than interpersonal trust. The major policy implication of the result is that trust could be invested on through policy changes regarding the economic betterment of societies.     

MEDIAN VOTERS OR BUDGET MAXIMIZERS: EVIDENCE FROM SCHOOL EXPENDITURE REFERENDA

Some readers may have found these results of greater interest were we able to confirm the directional hypotheses of the certainty setter model in addition to finding that spending is "related" to the reversion – the much weaker prediction of the uncertainty model. Yet the failure of the certainty
When base elections were optional, their infrequent occurrence might be expected under either a median voter or a setter model. For those districts that did hold base elections, the observations appear consistent with a setter model, but are either inexplicable by or inconsistent with a median voter model. Finally, both (a) the relationship between the number of budget elections and the presence of base elections, and (b) the outcome of mandatory base elections in 1978 provide a set of observations that are challenging to either model.
A similar challenge was posed by our investigation of budget elections when we called attention to the inadequacy of static, full information models. Rather than resolving the question of the simple setter model against the simple median voter model, our results indicate that both may be inappropriate and that endeavors dealing with complexities omitted here are warranted.     

Diversification and win rate in NLRB certification elections

This research examined industrial diversification patterns and win rates within the 1977–1979, 1983–1985 and 1992–1994 periods for all NLRB certification elections of the 30 most active unions in 1977–1979. We found significant change in diversification and little change in average win rates over the study period. The general trend was less total diversification and more unrelated diversification in 1992–1994 relative to 1983–1985 and 1977–1979. Total diversification and election frequency had no impact on win rates. However, related diversification had a significant positive influence on union win rates for elections recorded outside unions’ core organizing industries.     

“It Isn’t in the Curriculum”: World History Teachers’ Views on U.S. Presidential Elections

Abstract

This study examines world history teachers’ attitudes regarding teaching U.S. presidential elections. During interviews with nine teachers, participants emphasized that the competing demands of their classrooms negatively influenced their willingness to teach about the U.S. presidential elections generally, and the 2016 Election specifically. The participants reconsidered their stances on not teaching elections during the interviews but struggled to reconcile their role as world history teachers with their priorities as social studies more generally. While elections are part of the civics curriculum and can be easily associated with history courses, this study suggests that greater attention should be paid to how citizenship practices can be understood through world history classes to promote teaching about elections as part of the curriculum.     

Simple plurality versus plurality runoff with privately informed voters

This paper compares two voting methods commonly used in presidential elections: simple plurality voting and plurality runoff. In a situation in which a group of voters have common interests but do not agree on which candidate to support due to private information, information aggregation requires them to split their support between their favorite candidates. However, if a group of voters split their support, they increase the probability that the winner of the election is not one of their favorite candidates. In a model with three candidates, due to this tension between information aggregation and the need for coordination, plurality runoff leads to higher expected utility for the majority than simple plurality voting if the information held by voters about the candidates is not very accurate. Received: 12 September 2000/Accepted: 8 November 2001