Member participation in union activities: Perceptions of union priorities,performance, and satisfaction

Data obtained from union respondents of a survey using a national probability sample that is representative of the U.S. labor force revealed that members’ perceptions of their unions’ effectiveness in obtaining both extrinsic and intrinsic benefits and the unions’ responsiveness to membership were significantly related to member participation in union activities. Union satisfaction was inversely related to participation. Perceptions of union power and service and demographic variables, such as age and education, were found to have less significant linkages with member participation.     

Participation in union activities: A multivariate analysis

Multivariate analysis is used to estimate a model of member participation in local union activities. A sample of 387 members of the UAW living in the Detroit area was drawn from the1961 Detroit Area Study: Work Group Influence and Political Participation. It was hypothesized that participation would be positively associated with level of schooling, current wages, seniority, skilled jobs, job dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction with the local union, desire for another job, commitment to the labor movement, and getting along with others. OLS and Logit estimation techniques were used and support was found for all hypotheses except those related to wage levels and seniority.     

UNIONS, PLANTS, JOBS, AND WORKERS

The relationship between unions and their members is an important, yet neglected, subject in recent studies of the sociology of work. This study develops and tests a theory of union satisfaction and participation that combines recent research in the sociology of work with previous explanations of union satisfaction and participation provided by industrial relations researchers, in an attempt to understand the relationship between unions, plants, jobs, and workers in U.S. manufacturing industries. This theory predicts that union members will be satisfied with their unions and participate more in them if there are extensive ties between workers, employers, and unions. These ties stem from the focus of labor/management relations in particular, and class struggles in general, on market outcomes and the historical linkage of union membership with employment in the United States. The theory also predicts that unions them-selves act as ties to specific work settings and that union participation is a forum for voicing dissatisfaction with specific characteristics of workers' jobs. Testing these predictions is complicated by contradictory nature of the structure and organization of work in advanced industrial societies. The analysis provides qualified support for this theory, with data drawn from more unions, plants, and union members than have been used to date. In addition to discussing modifications to the theory and analysis presented here, the study includes a discussion of its implications for the future of unionization and the organization of work, in light of declines in union membership, increased efforts to decertify unions and resist union organizing efforts, and deindustrialization in the United States.     

Shared Beliefs and the Union Stability of Married and Cohabiting Couples

Cohabiting couples and couples who cohabit prior to marriage have less stable relationships than married couples who did not cohabit, and these differences in stability may be linked to different processes within the relationships. This research examines the similarity of partners’ beliefs about the division of household labor using the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 1,039), finding that couples who do not share beliefs about the division of household labor are more likely to end their union. Cohabiting couples have a particularly high likelihood of ending the union when the two partners hold widely divergent views about whether housework should be shared, suggesting that cohabiting and married couples may have different responses to dissimilarity between the partners.     

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 case against union-only project labor agreements on government construction projects

Imposition of union-only PLAs in the public sector cannot be shown to serve the public interest. The government should not enter into the realm of labor management relations by arbitrarily creating a protected enclave for union work at the expense of taxpayers and to the detriment of fair and open competition. Government agencies that impose union-only PLAs in response to short-term political pressure from labor organizations will suffer long term consequences, in the form of litigation, increased costs of construction, and adverse taxpayer reaction. Mr. Baskin is a partner with the Washington, DC. law firm of Venable, Baetjer, Howard & Civiletti, LLP. He focuses on all aspects of labor and employment law representing management and serves as General Counsel of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.     

Consequences of work force reduction: Some employer and union evidence

Despite the popularity of workforce cutbacks in the 1990s, largescale empirical stud-ies at the bargaining unit level are rare. I explore some of the consequences of per-manent work force reduction using data from both employer and union respondents. About 56 percent of employer participants and 57 percent of local union officials reported a permanent reduction of bargaining unit employees. In comparing bargain-ing units that experienced a permanent reduction of union members, results obtained from both employers and union officials indicated a significant negative impact on over-all employee satisfaction and labor climate. Additional analyses with union respon-dents revealed that the reduction of bargaining unit employees was also associated with a higher rate of grievances and absenteeism and poorer relations between union members and their supervisors.     

Transformational Leadership in Labor Organizations: The Effects on Union Citizenship Behaviors

This study suggests that transformational leadership influences union citizenship behavior by fostering a covenantal relationship between the union and the union member. A framework for covenantal relationships is developed from social exchange and social identity theories. Transformational leadership behavior was found to be strongly related to perceived union support, a social exchange construct. The results also indicated that there are positive and significant relationships between other social exchange constructs such as felt obligation and trust. Social identity theory is used to augment social exchange theory in explaining the process by which transformational leadership behaviors relate to union citizenship behaviors through union-based self-esteem. Limitations of the study, implications for union management, and directions for future research issues are discussed.     

Member support for union mergers: An analysis of an affiliation referendum

A changing labor relations climate has caused many national unions to merge with smaller independent unions in recent years. One aspect of the merger process concerns the willingness of independent union members to support affiliation with a national union (Chaison, 1986). This article examines the determinants of indivudual-level voting behavior using data gathered from members of an independent union who rejected a proposed affiliation with a national union in a membership referendum. Logistic regression results indicate that affiliation supporters perceived the affiliation as improving union effectiveness, were influenced by social support among co-workers in favor of the merger, and perceived the saliency of the independent union’s support for the affiliation proposal. Conversely, affiliation opposition was influenced by the employer’s “vote no” campaign and by perceptions that affiliation would lead to an increased probability of strikes and to future increases in dues.     

Amenities and the labor earnings function

Desirable locations are, other things equal, expected to be characterized by a mix of higher rents or lower wages. That is, if one area is more attractive than others, inmigration would occur, driving up the demand for land (hence raising rents) and increasing the supply of labor (hence lowering wages). The in-movement will continue until utility is the same across locations in equilibrium. Failing to hold constant amenities in the traditional earnings functions employed by labor economists will result, then, in omitted-variable bias if worker characteristics (years of schooling, union membership, and so on) are correlated with amenities. By way of illustration, our empirical analysis suggests that as much as 50 percent of the apparent return to unionization may be due to the impact of undesirable amenities, resulting in compensating higher wages, in areas of union strength — unionization is being credited with wage gains that properly should be attributed to climate and other (dis)amenities. Similar, though smaller, effects on other coefficients of the earnings function variables are presented.     

The Nature and Consequences of Organization-Employee and Union-Member Exchange: An Empirical Analysis

Drawing on a study of 423 union members in a UK Primary Care Trust, we use structural equation modeling to investigate the extent to which organizational and union commitment and citizenship behaviors are a function of economic and social exchange. Findings suggest that the organization-employee and union-member exchanges are distinct, with organizational commitment a function of organization-employee exchange and union commitment and citizenship behaviors (UCB) a function of union-member exchange. Findings also suggest that union commitment and UCB are motivated primarily by social exchange, with economic exchange playing a supporting role. In addition, for organizational commitment, social exchange also seemed to be relatively more important. There was no evidence that perceived industrial relations climate moderates these relationships. Implications for industrial relations and workplace social partnerships are considered.     

The effect of collective bargaining on production technique: A theoretical analysis

A general equilibrium approach is used to model the union effect on capitalintensity of the union and nonunion sectors. Unlike earlier general equilibrium approaches, union power is assumed to be affected by the production technique chosen. The labor relations literature argues that union power is enhanced by a high capital to labor ratio. This assumption is built into a simple two sector (union and nonunion), general equilibrium model. It is found that failing to account for the effects of capital intensity on union power results in an understatement of unions’ ability to redistribute income from capital to labor. The author thanks Jan Brueckner and an anonymous referee for helpful comments and suggestions.     

State of the unions: Assessment by elite American labor leaders

One hundred and sixty-four elite union leaders in the United States completed a survey to assess the condition of the American labor movement and the factors affecting it. The respondents included high-level international union and state federation officers, central labor presidents, and 58 shop stewards. This study compares the responses of these labor officials and finds that they have similar, negative assessments of the condition of the American labor movement. The study also finds that these leaders agree that the most important factors affecting the labor movement are collective bargaining rights, union leadership, union member solidarity, and the NLRB.     

Gender Differences in Union Formation in Mexico: Evidence From Marital Search Models

Although increasingly appreciated for their explanatory power in developed societies, marital search models have yet to be widely applied to developing nations. This article evaluates the applicability of marital search models to marriage timing in Mexico. The analysis compares separate models of union formation for men and women that include individual and marriage market predictors. Results show that union formation is closely linked to the uncertainties surrounding the transition to adulthood and the availability of marriageable partners. Improvements in women's economic position do not diminish the attractiveness of marriage, as female independence arguments would suggest. Instead, they are a central force behind the stability of marriage behavior in Mexico. A central transformation identified in the analysis is the reduction in sex differences in age at marriage as women expand their education and labor force participation.     

Voting in an Officer Election: Testing a model in a multi-site local

We test a model based on social exchange theory to explain the patterns of membership voting in a local union officer election. Survey data from members and stewards aggregated by 55 voting units, when combined with the control variable, explained 46 percent of the variance in the incumbent president's re-election. A greater percentage of member votes for the incumbent president were related to higher union loyalty, higher confidence in the grievance procedure, better union-management relations, and more positive perceptions of the union contract, findings that support our model of membership voting.     

Home is where the heart is: Latinx youth expression and identity in a critical maker project

ABSTRACT

Making has been touted for its potential to democratize STEM yet could be replicating issues of limited participation of persons from educationally underserved populations. This version of making could be problematic for young women of color, limiting participation and aspirations for STEM careers. We present a counterexample with Critical Making, an approach of action, reflection, and community dialog to promote social change. We examine a multimedia design and implementation project as an expression of seven young Latinx¹ women’s experiences. Participants were tasked with creating a maker artifact to display data from a community survey and produced an interactive (touch capacitive) heart-shaped word cloud capturing positive qualities of their community. We utilized cultural-historical activity theory to focus on relations of the teen participants, meanings conveyed by the word cloud, and how digital tools interacted with norms, division of labor, and community relationships to mediate understanding. We report tensions between group versus community values and between possible design features and tool limitations. We also report how participants authored intersecting identities as makers, group members, and contributors to their community. Our results document the dynamics of a Critical Maker program and expand understanding of how young Latinx women experience making and STEM learning.     

American Indian migration and economic opportunities

This article examines interstate migration and labor force participation among White, American Indian, and intermarried Indian/White couples in the US. The results show that endogamous American Indian couples are much less likely to change states of residence than are the other 2 groups of couples. The effect of interstate migration on labor force participation does not vary across the 3 groups of couples. The implications of these results for the assimilation and internal colonial models of race relations and for federal Indian policy are discussed     

Unions,politics, and protectionism

Conventional models of labor relations emphasize “business unionism,” that is, collective bargaining activities and outcomes. We argue that a more realistic model of behavior incorporates the union’s role as an agent of redistribution that seeks to benefit some members and union leaders primarily at the expense of other members, nonunion employees, and consumers. Union power to redistribute wealth is obtained from the special privileges that labor organizations obtain from government. This paper demonstrates how, as political entities, unions and their employers attempt to secure government-sanctioned wealth transfers through protectionism. The authors gratefully acknowledge research support provided by the Sarah Scaife Foundation and the Earhart Foundation.