PUBLIC UNIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

The Rise of Public Unions in the United States

The Rise of Public Unions in the United States

Introduction

Many studies have examined the influence of union density (union members as a percentage of all workers) on earnings in the private sector? but few such studies have looked at the public sector. Using data from the 1991 Current Population Survey? this study estimates the determinants of earnings for state and local government employees in both the union and nonunion sectors. The extent of public unionization appears to be positively correlated with earnings for both state and local government workers and for those covered and not covered by collective agreements. Although the effect for non-covered employees is smaller than that for covered employees? both effects are larger than those typically found in similar estimates for the private sector. The authors also find that bargaining structure has some influence on earnings? with the most consistent effect being a positive influence of arbitration on the earnings of local government workers. This paper discusses the rise of public unions in the united states.

Thesis Statment

The rise of public unions in the united states can let a contemporary public union leader foresee main obstacles to be faced during the twenty-First Century.

Discussion

The rise of public unionism has generated an enormous volume of research on the theoretical and empirical relationships among bargaining laws? union membership? public sector employment? and earnings. The largest share of this literature examines the interplay among the legal environment? bargaining? and union membership. A large secondary share of the research focuses on the influence of different dispute resolution procedures on earnings; and other studies examine the role played by public sector unionism in determining public sector employment levels.

Surprisingly little of this literature? however? examines the relationship between the extent of public unionization and the level of public sector earnings. This neglect contrasts sharply with the extensive literature studying the relationship between union density and earnings in the private sector. Numerous studies have found that the extent of unionization positively influences the earnings of union members? non-members? or both (for example? Freeman and Medoff 1981; Mellow 1983; Curme and Macpherson 1991).

What little evidence there is on the public sector seems somewhat indirect and focused largely on "spillovers" to nonunion workers. In their introduction to When Public Sector Workers Organize? summarizing the research reported in that volume? Freeman and Ichniowski (1988) noted three pieces of evidence indicating that nonunion public sector employees benefit from the presence of union workers. First? earnings of nonunion public sector workers were found to be higher in states that favor collective bargaining. Second? public sector nonunion earnings increased especially quickly in these same states. Third? Zax and Ichniowski (1988) demonstrated that workers in unorganized departments of a municipality earned higher pay when workers in other departments were unionized than when they were not. Sanitation workers in particular were likely to benefit greatly when police and fire workers were unionized.

Although such findings strongly hint that the extent of public ...