Inter-industry strike frequencies: Some pooled cross-sectional evidence from canadian secondary manufacturing

This note reports the results of a pooled cross-sectional time series regression of strike frequencies in Canadian secondary manufacturing for the years 1969, 1971, and 1974. The basic conclusion is that a bargaining model approach performs well for interpreting work stoppages associated with contract negotiations, but provides a less than satisfactory explanation of mid-term and unorganized strikes. The research reported in this paper was supported by a grant from Labour Canada. We wish to thank Harry Grosskleg of Labour Canada who provided the strike data; Ingrid Strauss, Kathy Meredith, and Mark Muth for research assistance; and Leonard Laudadio and an anonymous referee for helpful comments. The paper is an abbreviated version of Jones and Walsh (1983).