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The effect of unionization on faculty salaries and compensation: Estimates from the 1980s

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Abstract

Institutional data obtained from the AAUP and other sources are used to explore the effect of unionization on faculty salaries and compensation. This research differs from previous work in that it investigates the effect of affiliation with a particular national union, estimates the impact of decertification, and employs data from the 1980s, whereas previous research primarily used data from the 1970s. The crosssection results for the mid-1980s indicate a union-nonunion compensation differential of about 5 to 6 percent. The fixed-effects results indicate a negative union-nonunion compensation differential.

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My thanks to Ronald Ehrenberg, Dennis Koepke, and Albert Rees for comments on earlier drafts. Access to the data used in this paper is limited because some school’s data submissions to the AAUP are confidential. An appendix with additional results is available on request from the author.

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Rees, D.I. The effect of unionization on faculty salaries and compensation: Estimates from the 1980s. Journal of Labor Research 14, 399–422 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685746

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