Abstract
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.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Bibliography
Addison, J. T. and W. S. Siebert.The Market for Labor: An Analytical Treatment. Santa Monica: Goodyear, 1979.
Ahlburg, D. A. “Majority Voting Rules and the Union Success Rate in Decertification Elections.” Working Paper 82-16, 1982.
Anderson, J. C., G. Busman, and C. A. O’Reilly III. “What Factors Influence the Outcome of Decertification Elections?”Monthly Labor Review 102 (November 1979): 32–36.
_____. “The Decertification Process: Evidence from California.”Industrial Relations 21 (Spring 1982): 178–95.
Anderson, J. C., C. A. O’Reilly III, and G. Busman. “Union Decertification in the U.S., 1947–1977.”Industrial Relations 19 (Winter 1980): 100–107.
Ashenfelter, O. and G. E. Johnson. “Bargaining Theory, Trade Unions and Industrial Strike Activity.”American Economic Review 59 (March 1969): 35–49.
Block, R. N. “Union Organizing and the Allocation of Union Resources.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review 34 (October 1980): 101–13.
Carlson, J. A. “A Study of Price Forecasts.”Annals of Economic and Social Measurement 6 (1977): 27–56.
Chafetz, I. and C. R. P. Frazer. “Union Decertification: An Exploratory Analysis.”Industrial Relations 18 (Winter 1979): 59–69.
Christ, C. F. “Judging the Performance of Econometric Models of the U.S. Economy.”International Economic Review 16 (February 1975): 54–75.
Dworkin, J. B. and M. M. Extejt. “Why Workers Decertify Their Unions: A Preliminary Investigation.”Proceedings of the 39th Annual Meeting, Academy of Management (1979), pp. 241–45.
_____. “Recent Trends in Union Decertification/Deauthorization Elections.”Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Meeting, Industrial Relations Research Association (1980), pp. 226–34.
Elliott, R. D. and B. M. Hawkins. “Do Union Organizing Activities Affect Decertification?”Journal of Labor Research 3 (Spring 1982): 153–81.
_____. “Union Decertification: Some Recent Trends.”Employee Relations Law Journal 5 (Spring 1980): 533–48.
Farber, H. and D. Saks. “Why Workers Want Unions: The Role of Relative Wages and Job Characteristics.”Journal of Political Economy 88 (April 1980): 349–69.
_____ and Greer, C.R. “Determinants of U.S. Unionism: Past Research and Future Needs.”Industrial Relations 21 (Winter 1982): 1–32.
Fiorito, J. “American Trade Union Growth: An Alternative Model.”Industrial Relations 21 (Winter 1982): 123–27.
Fulmer, W. E. “When Employees Want to Oust Their Unions.”Harvard Business Review 56 (March/April 1978): 163–70.
_____ and Gilman, T. A. “Why Do Workers Vote for Union Decertification?”Personnel 58 (March–April 1981): 28–35.
Holt, C. C. “Job Search, Phillip’s Wage Relation, and Union Influence: Theory and Evidence.” InMicroeconomic Foundations of Employment and Inflation Theory, ed. E.S. Phelps et al. New York: W. W. Norton, 1970.
Hyclak, T. “Union-Nonunion Wage Changes and Voting Trends in Union Representation Elections.”Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Meeting, Industrial Relations Research Association (1981), pp. 344–50.
Johnson, G. E. “The Determinants of Wages in the Union and Non-Union Sectors.”British Journal of Industrial Relations 15 (July 1972): 211–25.
Kochan, T. A. “How American Workers View Labor Unions.”Monthly Labor Review 102 (April 1979): 23–31.
_____.Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations. Homewood, Ill.: Richard D. Irwin, 1980.
Krislov, J. “Decertification Elections Increase But Remain No Major Burden to Unions.”Monthly Labor Review 102 (November 1979): 30–32.
Lawler, J. and Hundley, G. “Determinatns of Union Certification and Decertification Activity: An Interindustrial Analysis.”Industrial Relations, forthcoming.
Lewis, H. G.Unionism and Relative Wages in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963.
Medoff, James L. “Layoffs and Alternatives Under Trade Unions in U.S. Manufacturing.”American Economic Review 69 (June 1979): 380–95.
Mitchell, D. J. B. “Some Empirical Observations of Relevance to the Analysis of Union Wage Determination.”Journal of Labor Research 1 (Fall 1980): 193–216.
_____. “Collective Bargaining and the Economy.” InU.S. Industrial Relations 1950–1980: A Critical Assessment, ed. J. Steiber et al. Bloomington, Ill.: Pantagraph Printing, 1981, pp. 1–46.
Moore, W. J. and J. Raisian. “Cyclical Sensitivity of Union-Nonunion Relative Wage Effects.”Journal of Labor Research 1 (Spring 1980): 115–32.
Pierson, G. “The Effect of Union Strength on the U.S. Phillips Curve.”American Economic Review 58 (June 1968): 456–67.
Pindyck, R. and D. Rubinfeld.Econometric Models and Economic Forecasts. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981.
Raisian, J. “Cyclical Patterns in Weeks and Wages.”Economic Inquiry 17 (October 1979): 475–95.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.Current Wage Developments, various issues.
Wachter, M. L. “The Changing Cyclical Responsiveness of Wage Inflation.”Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (1976): 115–68.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
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.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ahlburg, D.A., Dworkin, J.B. The influence of macroeconomic variables on the probability of union decertification. Journal of Labor Research 5, 13–28 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685067
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685067