IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ilrrev/v66y2013i1p88-116.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Coal Mine Safety: Do Unions Make a Difference?

Author

Listed:
  • Alison D. Morantz

Abstract

Although the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) has always advocated strongly for miners' safety, the empirical literature contains no evidence that unionization reduced mine injuries or fatalities during the 1970s and ′80s. The author uses an updated methodology and a more comprehensive data set than previous studies to examine the relationship between unionization and underground, bituminous coal mine safety from 1993 to 2010. She finds that unionization predicts a substantial and statistically significant decline in traumatic injuries and fatalities, the two safety measures that are the least prone to reporting bias. These results are especially pronounced among larger mines. Overall, unionization is associated with a 14 to 32% drop in traumatic injuries and a 29 to 83% drop in fatalities. Yet unionization also predicts higher total and nontraumatic injuries, suggesting that injury reporting practices differ between union and nonunion mines.

Suggested Citation

  • Alison D. Morantz, 2013. "Coal Mine Safety: Do Unions Make a Difference?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(1), pages 88-116, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:66:y:2013:i:1:p:88-116
    DOI: 10.1177/001979391306600104
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001979391306600104
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/001979391306600104?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barry Reilly & Pierella Paci & Peter Holl, 1995. "Unions, Safety Committees and Workplace Injuries," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 275-288, June.
    2. John W. Ruser, 1985. "Workers' Compensation Insurance, Experience-Rating, and Occupational Injuries," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 16(4), pages 487-503, Winter.
    3. Paul Fenn & Simon Ashby, 2004. "Workplace Risk, Establishment Size and Union Density," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(3), pages 461-480, September.
    4. Fishback, Price V., 1986. "Workplace safety during the progressive era: Fatal accidents in bituminous coal mining, 1912-1923," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 269-298, July.
    5. Barry T. Hirsch & David A. MacPherson & J. Michael Dumond, 1997. "Workers#x0027; Compensation Recipiency in Union and Nonunion Workplaces," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(2), pages 213-236, January.
    6. Fairris, David, 1995. "From Exit to Voice in Shopfloor Governance: The Case of Company Unions," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 69(4), pages 494-529, January.
    7. Butler, Richard J & Worrall, John D, 1983. "Workers' Compensation: Benefit and Injury Claims Rates in the Seventies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 580-589, November.
    8. Azaroff, L.S. & Levenstein, C. & Wegman, D.H., 2002. "Occupational injury and illness surveillance: Conceptual filters explain underreporting," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(9), pages 1421-1429.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ling Li & Shawn Rohlin & Perry Singleton, 2017. "Labor Unions and Occupational Safety: Event-Study Analysis Using Union Elections," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 205, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    2. Boal, William M., 2018. "Work intensity and worker safety in early twentieth-century coal mining," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 132-149.
    3. William M. Boal, 2017. "What did Unions do? The Case of Illinois Coal Mining in the 1880s," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 439-474, December.
    4. Athina Economou & Ioannis Theodossiou, 2015. "Join the Union and Be Safe: The Effects of Unionization on Occupational Safety and Health in the European Union," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(2), pages 127-140, June.
    5. Ling Li & Perry Singleton, 2019. "The Effect of Workplace Inspections on Worker Safety," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(3), pages 718-748, May.
    6. Caskey, Judson & Ozel, N. Bugra, 2017. "Earnings expectations and employee safety," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 121-141.
    7. Kimberly ChristenseN, 2014. "'Dark as a dungeon': technological change and government policy in the deunionization of the American coal industry," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 147-170, April.
    8. Christensen, Hans B. & Floyd, Eric & Liu, Lisa Yao & Maffett, Mark, 2017. "The real effects of mandated information on social responsibility in financial reports: Evidence from mine-safety records," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 284-304.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alejandro Donado, 2015. "Why Do Unionized Workers Have More Nonfatal Occupational Injuries?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(1), pages 153-183, January.
    2. Athina Economou & Ioannis Theodossiou, 2015. "Join the Union and Be Safe: The Effects of Unionization on Occupational Safety and Health in the European Union," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(2), pages 127-140, June.
    3. Erin Todd Bronchetti & Melissa McInerney, 2012. "Revisiting Incentive Effects in Workers' Compensation: Do Higher Benefits Really Induce More Claims?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 286-315, April.
    4. Darius N Lakdawalla & Robert T Reville & Seth A Seabury, 2007. "How Does Health Insurance Affect Workers’ Compensation Filing?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(2), pages 286-303, April.
    5. Alison Morantz, 2010. "Opting Out of Workers' Compensation in Texas: A Survey of Large, Multistate Nonsubscribers," NBER Chapters, in: Regulation vs. Litigation: Perspectives from Economics and Law, pages 197-238, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Fortin, B. & Lanoie, P., 1998. "Effects of Workers' Compensation : A Survey," Papers 9816, Laval - Recherche en Politique Economique.
    7. Butler, Richard J. & Hartwig, Robert P. & Gardner, Harold, 1997. "HMOs, moral hazard and cost shifting in workers' compensation," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 191-206, April.
    8. Krueger, Alan B. & Meyer, Bruce D., 2002. "Labor supply effects of social insurance," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 33, pages 2327-2392, Elsevier.
    9. Monica Galizzi, 2013. "On The Recurrence Of Occupational Injuries And Workers' Compensation Claims," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(5), pages 582-599, May.
    10. Krueger, Alan B., 1990. "Incentive effects of workers' compensation insurance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 73-99, February.
    11. David Weil, 2003. "Individual Rights and Collective Agents: The Role of Old and New Workplace Institutions in the Regulation of Labor Markets," NBER Working Papers 9565, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Artz, Benjamin & Heywood, John S., 2020. "Unions, Worker Participation and Worker Well-Being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 705, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. John Godard & Carola Frege, 2013. "Labor Unions, Alternative Forms of Representation, and the Exercise of Authority Relations in U.S. Workplaces," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(1), pages 142-168, January.
    14. MELISSA McINERNEY & KOSALI SIMON, 2012. "The Effect of State Workers’ Compensation Program Changes on the Use of Federal Social Security Disability Insurance," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 57-88, January.
    15. Melanie K. Jones & Paul L. Latreille & Peter J. Sloane, 2016. "Job Anxiety, Work-Related Psychological Illness and Workplace Performance," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 742-767, December.
    16. David Weil, 2004. "Individual Rights and Collective Agents. The Role of Old and New Workplace Institutions in the Regulation of Labor Markets," NBER Chapters, in: Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century, pages 13-44, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Kaestner, Robert & Grossman, Michael, 1998. "The effect of drug use on workplace accidents," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 267-294, September.
    18. Jones, Melanie K & Latreille, Paul L & Sloane, Peter J, 2011. "NILS Working paper no 180. Job anxiety, work-related psychological illness and workplace performance," NILS Working Papers 26078, National Institute of Labour Studies.
    19. Dionne, Georges, 1998. "La mesure empirique des problèmes d’information," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 74(4), pages 585-606, décembre.
    20. Donald F. Vitaliano, 2019. "Estimation of Wage–Risk Differentials Without Wages," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 64(2), pages 188-196, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:66:y:2013:i:1:p:88-116. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.