Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Union militancy among public employees: A public choice hypothesis

  • Articles
  • Published:
Journal of Labor Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Public employee union membership has grown from under 6 percent to over 20 percent of all union members since 1963. This growth has been ascribed to lagging wages, inelastic demands for public products, political clout, changed laws, and reduced professionalism and public spiritedness. These explanations agree that public employees now confront their employers in a newly militant and adversarial mode. We disagree. We model this growth in membership as a continuation of old public employment relations and forecast the soon diminution of militancy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.Categorical Grants: Their Role and Design. Washington, DC: ACIR, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashenfelter, Orley and George E. Johnson. “Bargaining Theory, Trade Unions, and Industrial Strike Activity.”American Economic Review 59 (March 1969): 35–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashenfelter, Orley and John Pencavel. “American Trade Union Growth, 1900–1960.”Quarterly Journal of Economics 83 (August 1969): 434–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balfour, Alan and Alexander B. Holmes. “The Effectiveness of No Strike Laws for Public School Teachers.”Journal of Collective Negotiations 10 (Fall 1981): 133–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banfield, Edward C. and James Q. Wilson.City Politics. New York: Vintage Books, 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, Gary. “Irrational Behavior and Economic Theory.”Journal of Political Economy 70 (March 1962): 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, James T. and William P. Orzechowski. “The Voting Behavior of Bureacrats: Some Empirical Evidence.”Public Choice 41 (1983): 271–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blakemore, Arthur E. and Roger L. Faith. “Bargaining Effect and Membership Effect in Public Sector Unions.”Southern Economic Journal 55 (April 1989): 908–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, George J. “Wage Determination in the Federal Government: The Role of Constituents and Bureaucrats.”Journal of Political Economy 88 (December 1980): 1110–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of the Census,Historical Statistics of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1960.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burton, John and Charles F. Krider. “The Incidence of Strikes in Public Employment.” InLabor in the Public and Non-Profit Sectors. Edited by Daniel Hamermesh. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1975, pp. 135–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassing, James, Timothy McKeown, and Jack N. Ochs. “The Political Economy of the Tariff Cycle.”American Political Science Review 80 (September 1986): 843–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colton, David L. “Collective Bargaining Laws and Teachers’ Strikes.”Journal of Collective Negotiations 7 (1978): 201–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, Amy H. “A Theory of the Organization of State and Local Government Employees.”Journal of Labor Research 3 (Spring 1982): 163–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiLorenzo, Thomas J. “Economic Competition and Political Competition: An Empirical Note.”Public Choice 40 (1983): 203–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, Joel. “Injunctions Under New York’s Taylor Law: An Occupational Analysis.”Journal of Collective Negotiations 10 (1981): 249–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Downs, Anthony.An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper and Row, 1957.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellwood, David T. and Glen Fine. “Effects of Right-to-Work Laws on Union Organizing.”Journal of Political Economy 95 (April 1987): 50–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faber, Charles F. and Donald L. Martin, Jr. “Two Factors Affecting Enactment of Collective Bargaining Legislation in Public Education.”Journal of Collective Negotiations 9 (1980): 329–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faith, Roger L. and Bernard Lentz. “The Intertemporal Impact of Strikes on Prices and Profits: The Case of the Coal Industry.” Mimeographed, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faith, Roger L., and Joseph D. Reid, Jr. “An Agency Theory of Unionism.”Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 8 (March 1987a): 39–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • _____. “The Labor Union As Its Members’ Agent.” InNew Approaches to Labor Unions, Research in Labor Economics. Edited by Joseph D. Reid, Jr. Greenwich: JAI Press, 1983, Supplement 2, pp. 3–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • _____. “Right to Work and Union Compensation Structure.”Journal of Labor Research 8 (Spring 1987b): 111–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farber, Henry S. “Right-to-Work Laws and the Extent of Unionization.”Journal of Labor Economics 2 (July 1984): 319–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenno, Richard F., Jr.Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiorina, Morris P.Congress, Keystone of the Washington Establishment. New Haven, CT: Yale Univeristy Press, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, Richard B. “Unionism Comes to the Private Sector.”Journal of Economic Literature 24 (March 1986): 41–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginsburg, Woodrow. “Review of Literature on Union Growth, Government and Structure — 1955–69.”Review of Industrial Relations Research 1. Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association, 1970, pp. 207–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, John R.The Theory of Wages. 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inman, Robert P. “Federal Assistance and Local Services in the United States: The Evolution of a New Fiscal Order.” N.B.E.R. Working Paper No. 2283 (June 1987).

  • Kassalow, Everett M. “Trade Unionism Goes Public.”The Public Interest 14 (Winter 1969): 118–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, Clark and Abraham Siegel. “The Interindustry Propensity to Strike — An International Comparison.” InIndustrial Conflict. Edited by Arthur Kornhauser, Robert Durbin, and Arthur M. Ross. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1954, pp. 189–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochan, Thomas A. “Dynamics of Dispute Resolution in the Public Sector.” InPublic Sector Bargaining and Strikes. 5th ed. Vienna, VA: Public Service Research Council, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochman, Phillip. “The Developing Role of Teachers’ Unions.” Ph.D. diss., Techers College, Columbia University, 1939.

  • Reported in Moskow, Michael H., J. Joseph Loewenberg and Edward Clifford Koriara,Collective Bargaining in Public Employment. New York: Random House, 1970, p. 144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krislov, Joseph A. “The Independent Public Employee Association: Characteristics and Function.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review 15 (July 1962): 510–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurth, Michael M. “The Growth of Unionism in the Public Sector.” Ph.D. diss., Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 1982.

  • Lazear, Edward P. “A Microeconomic Theory of Labor Unions.” InNew Approaches to Labor Unions, Research in Labor Economics. Edited by Joseph D. Reid, Jr. Greenwich: JAI Press, 1983, Supplement 2, pp. 53–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lentz, Bernard F. “Public Sector Wage Determination: A Democratic Theory of Economics.” Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 1976.

  • Levine, Marvin J. and Eugene C. Hagburn.Public Sector Labor Relations. New York: West Publishing Co., 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, David. “Public Sector Labor Relations.”Journal of Labor History 18 (December 1977): 133–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lumsden, Keith and Craig Petersen. “The Effect of Right-to-Work Laws on Unionization in the United States.”Journal of Political Economy 83 (December 1975): 1237–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackay, Robert J. and Joseph D. Reid, Jr. “Where Are We in the Theory of Regulation?” InRegulatory Change in an Atmosphere of Crisis. Edited by Gary M. Walton. New York: Academic Press, 1979, pp. 101–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, William J. “Factors Affecting Growth in Public and Private Unions.”Journal of Collective Negotiations 6 (1973): 37–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers, Miles. “The Role of the AFT in School Desegregation.”Changing Education 1 (Fall 1966): 39–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, William B., Gerald W. Stone, Jr. and J. Michael Swint. “An Economic Analysis of Public Sector Collective Bargaining and Strike Activity.”Journal of Labor Research 2 (Spring 1981): 77–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson, Mancur.The Logic of Collective Action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pincus, Jonathan J. “Pressure Groups and the Pattern of Tariffs.”Journal of Political Economy 83 (August 1975): 757–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Public Service Research Council,Public Sector Bargaining and Strikes. 5th ed. Vienna, VA, 1981.

  • Rees, Albert. “Industrial Conflict and Business Fluctuations.”Journal of Political Economy 60 (October 1952): 371–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, Joseph D., Jr. “Labor Unions in the American Economy: An Analytical Survey.”Journal of Labor Research 3 (Summer 1982): 277–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • _____. “Tax Revolts in Historical Perspective.”National Tax Journal 32 (June 1979): 67–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • _____. “Understanding Political Events in the New Economic History.”Journal of Economic History 37 (June 1977): 302–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • _____ and Michael M. Kurth. “The Contribution of Exclusive Representation to Union Strength.”Journal of Labor Research 5 (Fall 1984a): 391–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • _____. “The Organization of State and Local Government Employees: Comment.”Journal of Labor Research 5 (Spring 1984b): 191–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • _____. “A Public Choice History of the Rise and Fall of Political Patronage in the U.S.” Mimeographed, Department of Economics, George Mason University, July 1988.

  • Reynolds, Lloyd G.Labor Economics and Labor Relations, 7th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, Daniel B. and Donald E. Klinger. “The Erosion of Home Rule in Personnel Management.”National Civic Review 9 (January 1980): 26–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, Sharon. “Government Wage Differentials.”Journal of Urban Economics 4 (July 1977): 248–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spero, Sterling D.Government as Employer. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1948.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanley, David T. “What Are Unions Doing to Merit Systems?”Public Personnel Review 31 (April 1970): 108–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stieber, Jack. “Comment on Burton and Krider.” InLabor in the Public and Non-Profit Sectors. Edited by Daniel Hamermesh. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1975, pp. 175–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, Robert D. “Implementing Federal Programs At the Local Level.”Political Science Quarterly 94 (Fall 1979): 419–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiebout, Charles M. “A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures.”Journal of Political Economy 64 (October 1956): 416–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tullock, Gordon. “Dynamic Hypothesis on Bureaucray.”Public Choice 37 (Fall 1974): 127–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weingast, Barry and William Marshall. “The Industrial Organization of Congress.”Journal of Political Economy 96 (February 1988): 132–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weintraub, Andrew R. and Robert J. Thornton. “Why Teachers Strike: The Economics and Legal Determinants.”Journal of Collective Negotiations 5 (1976): 193–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, Leonard D.Trends in Public Administration. New York: McGraw Hill, 1933.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, James Q. “The Economy of Patronage.”Journal of Political Economy 69 (August 1961): 369–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wurf, Jerry. “Letter.”Public Personnel Review 27 (January 1966): 52.

    Google Scholar 

  • _____ and Mary L. Hennessy. “American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.” InCollective Bargaining in Government: Readings and Cases. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1972, pp. 60–65. Edited by J. Joseph Loewenberg and Michael H. Moscow.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. George Mason University, 22030, Fairfax, VA

    Joseph D. Reid

  2. McNeese State University, 70609, Lake Charles, LA

    Michael M. Kurth

Authors
  1. Joseph D. Reid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael M. Kurth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reid, J.D., Kurth, M.M. Union militancy among public employees: A public choice hypothesis. Journal of Labor Research 11, 1–23 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685417

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685417

Keywords

Search

Navigation