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Unions and wage inequality: The roles of gender, skill and public sector employment

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  • David Card
  • Thomas Lemieux
  • W. Craig Riddell

Abstract

We examine the changing relationship between unionization and wage inequality in Canada and the United States. Our study is motivated by profound recent changes in the composition of the unionized workforce. Historically, union jobs were concentrated among low‐skilled men in private sector industries. With the steady decline in private sector unionization and rising influence in the public sector, half of unionized workers are now in the public sector. Accompanying these changes was a remarkable rise in the share of women among unionized workers. Currently, approximately half of unionized employees in North America are women. While early studies of unions and inequality focused on males, recent studies find that unions reduce wage inequality among men but not among women. In both countries, we find striking differences between the private and public sectors in the effects of unionization on wage inequality. At present, unions reduce economy‐wide wage inequality by less than 10%. However, union impacts on wage inequality are much larger in the public sector. Once we disaggregate by sector, the effects of unions on male and female wage inequality no longer differ. The key differences in union impacts are between the public and private sectors—not between males and females. Syndicats et inégalités salariales : importance du genre, des habiletés et de l’emploi dans le secteur public. Dans cet article, nous examinons l’évolution de la relation entre syndicalisation et inégalités salariales au Canada et aux États‐Unis. Notre étude se fonde sur les changements récents et profonds de la composition de la main d’œ uvre syndiquée. Historiquement, les emplois syndiqués étaient occupés par des hommes peu qualifiés travaillant dans les industries du secteur privé. Avec le déclin régulier de la syndicalisation au sein du secteur privé et son influence croissante au sein du secteur public, la moitié des travailleurs syndiqués fait désormais partie du secteur public. Ces changements ont été accompagnés d’une hausse spectaculaire du pourcentage de femmes parmi les travailleurs syndiqués. Actuellement, près de la moitié des employés syndiqués en Amérique du Nord sont des femmes. Tandis que les premières études sur les syndicats et les inégalités portaient sur les hommes, certaines plus récentes ont montré que les syndicats permettaient de réduire les inégalités salariales entre les hommes, mais pas entre les femmes. Dans les deux pays, nous avons découvert des différences frappantes entre secteur privé et secteur public relativement aux effets de la syndicalisation sur les inégalités salariales. Aujourd’hui, les syndicats permettent de réduire les inégalités salariales de moins de 10 % dans l’ensemble de l’économie. Néanmoins, l’influence des syndicats sur les inégalités salariale est bien plus forte dans le secteur public. En décomposant les données par secteur, les effets des syndicats sur les inégalités salariales entre hommes et femmes sont les mêmes. En matière d’influence des syndicats, les différences fondamentales se situent entre le secteur privé et le secteur public, et non entre les hommes et les femmes.

Suggested Citation

  • David Card & Thomas Lemieux & W. Craig Riddell, 2020. "Unions and wage inequality: The roles of gender, skill and public sector employment," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(1), pages 140-173, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:53:y:2020:i:1:p:140-173
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12432
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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