A theory of the organization of state and local government employees

Expansion of public employee labor organizations has brought considerable change in a sector previously considered outside the domain of the trade union movement. A model to explain this phenomenon among state and local government employees is developed and tested using data from the1977 Census of Governments. The percentage of employees organized is determined by a number of factors which affect the costs and benefits of membership and may be influenced by the level of employees’ earnings. Empirical evidence indicates that a higher level of organization is a product of government size, legal provisions, unionization in the private sector, and, in some government functions, the unemployment rate, and level of income.