Trade Unions: Trade union density (Edition 2018)

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Union Density

Een halve eeuw vakbondslidmaatschap : Een verkennende longitudinale studie naar enkele cyclische determinanten voor de ledenontwikkeling van de Belgische vakbonden, 1946-1995

Res Publica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-32
Author(s):  
Kurt Vandaele
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Econometric Model ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Free Riding ◽  
Structural Variable ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
The Impact

This article explains the ebb and flow in Belgian trade union membership from 1946 to 1995 by replicating the econometric model by Bain and Elsheikhn in which changes in macro-economic variables are highly significant. Since the automatic indexation of wages and the extension of collective labour agreements invite free riding, the relevance of the change in inflation and real wage is quite striking. However, the free riding-effect is slowed down by the institutionalised presence of the trade unions on the work floor. The Ghent system explains the positive impact of the unemployment rate . The model is furthermore improved by the trade union density as a structural variable. The linear form reflects the enforcement effect, while the quadratic form mirrors the saturation effect on the trade union membership. Mainly due to the 'Allgemeinkoalitionsfähighkeit' of the Belgian government system, the impact of left parties on union growth and decline is not significant in a quantitative framework. With only four explanatory variables the model clarifies more than 75% of the fluctuations in Belgian trade union membership.

European trade union cooperation, union density and employee attitudes to unions

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-358
Author(s):  
Bengt Furåker
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Employee Attitudes ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
International Social Survey Programme ◽  
European Trade ◽  
Using Data ◽  
International Social

European trade unions have much to gain from cooperating with each other. Such cooperation does exist, but it is still fairly limited and many obstacles need to be overcome if cooperation is to be improved. According to our survey data, higher-level union officials regard differences concerning financial resources and national labour market regulations to be particularly substantial barriers to cooperation. The enormously varying union density across Europe, and its general decrease, also creates barriers. Therefore, employee attitudes to unions are examined using data from the International Social Survey Programme. As expected, union members tend to be more positive about trade unions than non-members. The most interesting finding, however, is that employees in some countries with low union density exhibit fairly positive views or at least views that are not less positive than what we find among employees in many countries with higher density rates. This suggests that there is potential for recruiting members.

Union Amalgamations and the Decline in Union Density

1999 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Wooden
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Regression Model ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Marked Decline

Confronted by a marked decline in trade union density, the union movement in Australia bas responded by promoting the restructuring and amolgamation of trade unions. As a result, the number of active trade unions in Australia has fallen markedly since 1990. Despite tbis, the decline in trade union density accelerated during the 1990s, leading some analysts to suggest that the union amalgamation process may actually have been counterproductive in terms of overall trade union membership. This article tests this hypothesis using panel data collected as part of the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. A regression model of changes in union density in the period 1989/90 to 1995 is developed and estimated. The results indicate that while declining union numbers have been associated with the decline in union density, none of the blame for the fall can be traced to the amalgamation process.

scholarly journals An Institutional Approach to Trade Union Density. The Case of Legal Origins and Political Ideology

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (49) ◽  
pp. 35-49
Author(s):  
Jacek Lewkowicz ◽  
Anna Lewczuk
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Terms Of Trade ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
Institutional Approach ◽  
Legal Origins ◽  
The Status

Abstract Which institutions may be important in terms of trade union density and how significant they are? Although the status of trade unions may be very different among states, unions are still a very meaningful component of labour markets. In this paper, we contribute to the debate about the institutions that may affect the outcome of trade unions in different legal systems. Firstly, we draw on the theoretical underpinnings of trade union activity and density. Then, we conduct an empirical analysis of the relationships between trade union density in a particular country, country’s legal origins and government’s ideology. In this way, the paper enriches an underexploited niche in institutional research devoted to labour market issues.

scholarly journals Young Workers in Transition: Explaining the Density Gap by a Life-course Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laust Høgedahl ◽  
Rasmus Juul Møberg
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Western World ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
Point Of Departure

A common challenge for all trade unions in most of the Western world is the growing trade union density gap between young and older workers. In this paper, we examine the generational trade union gap with point of departure in the Danish case. Our data stem from two large surveys (APL II & III).We find that young workers are not more individualized; to the contrary, unorganized young workers have a growing collective mind-set. Through the lens of a life-course perspective, our data show that young workers have a growing ‘fluidic’ working life. Many young workers also take jobs in parts of the labor market with weak trade unions representation not allowing them to get in contact with trade unions representatives.

Regional Differentiation in Trade Union Density

1993 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Van der Laan
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Regional Differentiation ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Locational Analysis ◽  
Regional Economic Analysis

In general, regional economic analysis of trade unions is particularly directed at the effects of labour unions, whereas the conditions and causal aspects which influence the presence of labour unions in regions are studied far less. In this paper an attempt is made to fill part of this gap in knowledge by means of an analysis of the causes of the regional differentiation in labour union membership in the Netherlands. A theoretical survey into the causes of variation in regional membership is reported on. Subsequently, the effects of the potential causes of this regional differentiation are analysed empirically. First, it was found that several potentially important aspects do not explain the regional variation in membership. Second, those aspects that were relevant can be reduced to two common factors. Third, it can be concluded that the rather low level of explanation of the regional differentiation suggests that present economic locational analysis should be supplemented by an approach in which the economic historical context is taken into account too. Regional differentiation in trade union membership can only fully be understood from a regional economic historical approach.

scholarly journals How do union membership, union density and institutionalization affect perceptions of conflict between management and workers?

2020 ◽  
pp. 095968012096354
Author(s):  
Josef Ringqvist
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
International Social

This article contributes to debates about trade unions and conflict by studying how individuals’ perceptions of conflicts between management and workers relate to trade union membership, country-level trade union density and institutionalization (collective bargaining coverage, centralization and policy concertation). Hierarchical multi-level models are fitted to data from the International Social Survey Programme from 2009. The results show that union members tend to be more likely than non-members to perceive management–worker conflicts and that this appears not to vary substantially between countries. However, regardless of union membership, individuals in countries with higher trade union density and with policy concertation tend to be significantly less likely to perceive conflicts. These findings highlight the risk of atomic fallacies in research limited to the individual-level effects of union membership. Contrary to an argument often raised by pluralists, neither bargaining coverage nor centralization has significant effects. Overall, the results question depictions of trade unions as divisive organizations.

Human Resource Management within a Trade Union Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 477-500
Author(s):  
Lorraine Ryan ◽  
Jonathan Lavelle
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
National Level ◽  
Union Density ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Wide Range

The purpose of this chapter is to profile trade unions and their activities across a range of countries to illustrate the importance of context. In particular, the chapter focuses on providing contextual information on levels of trade union density (both at the national level and within organizations), levels of trade union engagement (trade union recognition), levels of influence that trade unions have within the workplace, and levels of collective bargaining. The chapter draws on a wide range of sources, including sources that report national-level statistics on trade union density and collective bargaining coverage (the ICTWSS); organizational-level data on trade union engagement and influence (the Cranet surveys); and individual-level data reporting on the influence of trade unions in the workplace (European Social Survey). The data predominantly reveal a picture of diversity across countries in relation to trade union activity and collective bargaining, although declining levels of trade union density and collective bargaining coverage are common to many countries. By drawing on a wide range of sources and countries, the chapter reveals the need for a much deeper analysis of trade unions within national contexts and a much “thicker approach” to comparative analysis.

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