IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indrel/v47y2016i4p360-378.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unions and the economic basis of attitudes

Author

Listed:
  • Alex Bryson
  • Michael White

Abstract

Unions make differences to employee satisfaction that correspond to their effects on individual economic advantage. Panel data reveal how changes in economic circumstance and changes in job satisfaction are linked to changes in union coverage. When individuals move into a union covered job they receive a wage mark-up and express enhanced pay satisfaction. Conversely, those moving from a union covered job on average lose any mark-up and have significantly reduced satisfaction. Similar findings emerge for working hours. On average individuals prefer shorter hours, something they tend to (not to) achieve on moving into (out of) a unionized job, resulting in higher (lower) satisfaction. Switching into union coverage lowers satisfaction with job security, even though coverage has no effect on the risk of unemployment. This is because covered employees suffer greater costs of re-employment for a given level of unemployment risk, partly due to loss of the union mark-up.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2016. "Unions and the economic basis of attitudes," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 360-378, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:47:y:2016:i:4:p:360-378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/irj.12145
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora, 2004. "Does Union Membership Really Reduce Job Satisfaction?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(3), pages 439-459, September.
    2. Alison L. Booth & Marco Francesconi & Gylfi Zoega, 2003. "Unions, Work-Related Training, and Wages: Evidence for British Men," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(1), pages 68-91, October.
    3. Alex Bryson, 2004. "Unions And Employment Growth In British Workplaces During The 1990s: A Panel Analysis," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 51(4), pages 477-506, September.
    4. Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2011. "Anticipation, Free-Rider Problems, and Adaptation to Trade Unions: Re-Examining the Curious Case of Dissatisfied Union Members," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(5), pages 1000-1019, October.
    5. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood, 2015. "Dissatisfied Union Workers: Sorting Revisited," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 580-600, September.
    6. Stephen Nickell & Patricia Jones & Glenda Quintini, 2002. "A Picture of Job Insecurity Facing British Men," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(476), pages 1-27, January.
    7. Alison L. Booth & Andrew McCulloch, 1999. "Redundancy Pay, Unions and Employment," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 67(3), pages 346-366, June.
    8. Michael White & Alex Bryson, 2013. "Job Cuts, Job Guarantees And Unions," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 81(6), pages 855-875, December.
    9. C Green & J S Heywood, 2010. "Unions, Dissatisfied Workers and Sorting," Working Papers 615292, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    10. Marco Francesconi & Carlos García Serrano, 2004. "Unions, Temporary Employment and Hours of Work: A Tale of Two Countries," Revista de Economía Laboral - Spanish Journal of Labour Economics, Asociación Española de Economía Laboral - AEET, vol. 1, pages 38-75.
    11. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora, 2009. "Workers' Perceptions of Job Insecurity: Do Job Security Guarantees Work?," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 23(s1), pages 177-196, March.
    12. Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Paul Frijters, 2004. "How Important is Methodology for the estimates of the determinants of Happiness?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(497), pages 641-659, July.
    13. Bryson, Alex & Cappellari, Lorenzo & Lucifora, Claudio, 2004. "Do job security guarantees work?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19929, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. John M. Abowd & Henry S. Farber, 1982. "Job Queues and the Union Status of Workers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 35(3), pages 354-367, April.
    15. George J. Borjas, 1979. "Job Satisfaction, Wages, and Unions," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 14(1), pages 21-40.
    16. Taylor, Mark P. & Jenkins, Stephen P. & Sacker, Amanda, 2011. "Financial capability and psychological health," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 710-723.
    17. Keith A. Bender & Peter J. Sloane, 1998. "Job Satisfaction, Trade Unions, and Exit-Voice Revisited," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 51(2), pages 222-240, January.
    18. Richard Hyman, 1997. "The Future of Employee Representation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 35(3), pages 309-336, September.
    19. Bresnahan, Timothy F, 1999. "Computerisation and Wage Dispersion: An Analytical Reinterpretation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(456), pages 390-415, June.
    20. John S. Heywood & W. S. Siebert & Xiangdong Wei, 2002. "Worker Sorting and Job Satisfaction: The Case of Union and Government Jobs," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(4), pages 595-609, July.
    21. Blanchflower, David G & Millward, Neil & Oswald, Andrew J, 1991. "Unionism and Employment Behaviour," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(407), pages 815-834, July.
    22. Richard Dickens & Paul Gregg & Jonathan Wadsworth (ed.), 2003. "The Labour Market Under New Labour," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-59845-4, March.
    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. Ioulia Bessa & Andy Charlwood & Danat Valizade, 2021. "Do Unions Cause Job Dissatisfaction? Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment in the United Kingdom," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 251-278, June.
    2. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Union membership and job satisfaction over the life course," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 411-429, September.
    3. Goerke, Laszlo & Huang, Yue, 2022. "Job satisfaction and trade union membership in Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Yan, Alan Nigel, 2023. "The minimal effects of union membership on political attitudes," SocArXiv zabrq, Center for Open Science.
    5. Alex Bryson & Lucy Stokes & David Wilkinson, 2023. "Is pupil attainment higher in well-managed schools?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 129-144, January.
    6. Barry, Michael & Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Kaufman, Bruce E. & Lomas, Guenther & Wilkinson, Adrian, 2018. "The," IZA Discussion Papers 11860, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Mark Harcourt & Gregor Gall & Margaret Wilson, 2023. "The effects of public goods framing for a union default policy," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(4), pages 1197-1221, November.
    8. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2020. "Job Satisfaction Over the Life Course," NBER Working Papers 28206, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Artz, Benjamin & Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2022. "Unions increase job satisfaction in the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 173-188.
    10. Michael Barry & Alex Bryson & Rafael Gomez & Bruce Kaufman & Guenther Lomas & Adrian Wilkinson, 2018. "The ''Good Workplace'': The Role of Joint Consultative Committees, Unions and HR policies in Employee Ratings of Workplaces in Britain," DoQSS Working Papers 18-08, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    11. Olga V. Smirnova, 2017. "Flexible institutional arrangements and labour productivity: the case of transit industry in the United States," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 72-93, January.
    12. White, Michael & Bryson, Alex, 2018. "HPWS in the Public Sector: Are There Mutual Gains?," IZA Discussion Papers 11965, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson & Colin Green, 2022. "Trade unions and the well‐being of workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 255-277, June.

    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. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson & Colin Green, 2022. "Trade unions and the well‐being of workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 255-277, June.
    2. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2020. "Now Unions Increase Job Satisfaction and Well-being," NBER Working Papers 27720, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Goerke, Laszlo & Huang, Yue, 2022. "Job satisfaction and trade union membership in Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Ioulia Bessa & Andy Charlwood & Danat Valizade, 2021. "Do Unions Cause Job Dissatisfaction? Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment in the United Kingdom," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 251-278, June.
    5. Artz, Benjamin & Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2022. "Unions increase job satisfaction in the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 173-188.
    6. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2016. "Not so dissatisfied after all? The impact of union coverage on job satisfaction," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 898-919.
    7. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood, 2015. "Dissatisfied Union Workers: Sorting Revisited," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 580-600, September.
    8. Haile, Getinet & Bryson, Alex & White, Michael, 2015. "Spillover effects of unionisation on non-members' wellbeing," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 108-122.
    9. Patrice Laroche, 2016. "A Meta-Analysis of the Union–Job Satisfaction Relationship," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 709-741, December.
    10. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2020. "Job satisfaction over the life course," DoQSS Working Papers 20-20, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    11. Goerke, Laszlo, 2020. "Unions and Workers' Well-being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 726, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Chiara Paola Donegani & Stephen McKay, 2012. "Is there a paradox of lower job satisfaction among trade union members? European evidence," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 18(4), pages 471-489, November.
    13. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Union membership and job satisfaction over the life course," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 411-429, September.
    14. Haile, Getinet Astatike & Bryson, Alex & White, Michael, 2012. "Heterogeneity in Union Status and Employee Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 7075, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. C Green & J S Heywood, 2010. "Unions, Dissatisfied Workers and Sorting," Working Papers 615292, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    16. repec:lan:wpaper:3161 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. repec:ilr:articl:v:65:y:2012:i:2:p:263-285 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Pierre Brochu & Louis-Philippe Morin, 2011. "Union Membership and Perceived Job Insecurity: 30 Years of Evidence from the American General social Survey," Working Papers 1106E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    19. White, Michael & Bryson, Alex, 2018. "HPWS in the Public Sector: Are There Mutual Gains?," IZA Discussion Papers 11965, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Arne Mastekaasa, 2013. "Unionization and Certified Sickness Absence: Norwegian Evidence," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(1), pages 117-141, January.
    21. repec:lan:wpaper:2912 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Pierre Brochu & Louis-Philippe Morin, 2012. "Union Membership and Perceived Job Insecurity: Thirty Years of Evidence from the American General Social Survey," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 263-285, April.
    23. Artz, Benjamin & Heywood, John S., 2020. "Unions, Worker Participation and Worker Well-Being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 705, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

    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:bla:indrel:v:47:y:2016:i:4:p:360-378. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0019-8692 .

    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.