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Accounting for the Decline in Union Membership, 1950–1980

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  • William T. Dickens
  • Jonathan S. Leonard

Abstract

This study analyzes the components of the post-1950 trends in the share of the private work force organized by unions, which rose from 1950 to 1954 and then fell steadily to 1980. The authors decompose the sources of growth and decline into changes in organizing activity, success in certification elections, losses from decertification elections, and net growth due to economic causes—the last a residual measure designed to capture the effect of factors such as plant closings, layoffs, and new hires. They find that all factors except decertifications accounted for a substantial part of the decline since 1954. When the level of aggregate economic activity is held constant, loss of membership due to other economic causes shows no downward trend, a finding that challenges the view that the decline in the unionized share of the work force has been due primarily to a secular decline in employment in the strongly unionized industries.

Suggested Citation

  • William T. Dickens & Jonathan S. Leonard, 1985. "Accounting for the Decline in Union Membership, 1950–1980," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 38(3), pages 323-334, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:38:y:1985:i:3:p:323-334
    DOI: 10.1177/001979398503800301
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. William T. Dickens & Jonathan S. Leonard, 1986. "Structural Changes in Unionization: 1973-1981," NBER Working Papers 1882, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Diemer, Andreas, 2023. "Divided we fall? The effect of manufacturing decline on the social capital of US communities," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120355, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Henry S. Farber, 2005. "Union Membership in the United States: The Divergence between the Public and Private Sectors," Working Papers 882, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    4. Hornstein, Andreas & Krusell, Per & Violante, Giovanni L., 2005. "The Effects of Technical Change on Labor Market Inequalities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 20, pages 1275-1370, Elsevier.
    5. Richard B. Freeman & Morris M. Kleiner, 1990. "Employer Behavior in the Face of Union Organizing Drives," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 43(4), pages 351-365, July.
    6. Henry S. Farber & Bruce Western, 2000. "Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Decline of Unions in The Private Sector, 1973-1998," Working Papers 816, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    7. W. Craig Riddell, 1993. "Unionization in Canada and the United States: A Tale of Two Countries," NBER Chapters, in: Small Differences That Matter: Labor Markets and Income Maintenance in Canada and the United States, pages 109-148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Ian Thomas MacDonald, 2014. "Towards Neoliberal Trade Unionism: Decline, Renewal and Transformation in North American Labour Movements," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(4), pages 725-752, December.
    9. Adamson, Dwight W. & Partridge, Mark, 1994. "The Influence of International on Union Firm Hiring and Worker Union Choice," Economics Staff Papers 232237, South Dakota State University, Department of Economics.
    10. Hornstein, Andreas & Krusell, Per & Violante, Giovanni L., 2005. "The Effects of Technical Change on Labor Market Inequalities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 20, pages 1275-1370, Elsevier.
    11. Henry S. Farber, 2005. "Union Membership in the United States: The Divergence between the Public and Private Sectors," Working Papers 882, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    12. David A. Matsa, 2018. "Capital Structure and a Firm’s Workforce," NBER Working Papers 25125, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. David A. Macpherson & Barry T. Hirsch, 2023. "Five decades of CPS wages, methods, and union‐nonunion wage gaps at Unionstats.com," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 439-452, October.
    14. Henry S. Farber & Bruce Western, 2000. "Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Decline of Unions in The Private Sector, 1973-1998," Working Papers 816, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..

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