IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indres/v50y2011i1p131-148.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Union Corruption on Union Membership

Author

Listed:
  • CHRISTOPHER K. COOMBS
  • RICHARD CEBULA

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between union corruption actions and union membership. State-level data from the Office of Labor-Management Standards, and other sources, are utilized over two study periods (1974-2000 and 2001- 2008) to test three hypotheses, including the union corruption hypothesis, as pos­sible explanations for the decline in union membership in the United States over time. Although our initial findings suggest a negative relationship exists between union corruption and membership, after removing the possibility of simultaneous equations bias, we find that changes in corruption do not influence changes in union membership in our sample.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher K. Coombs & Richard Cebula, 2011. "The Impact of Union Corruption on Union Membership," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 131-148, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indres:v:50:y:2011:i:1:p:131-148
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.1468-232X.2010.00628.x
    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. Moore, William J & Newman, Robert J, 1975. "On the Prospects for American Trade Union Growth: A Cross-Section Analysis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 57(4), pages 435-445, November.
    2. Richard Cebula & Christopher Coombs, 2008. "Recent Evidence on Factors Influencing the Female Labor Force Participation Rate," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 272-284, September.
    3. Farber, Henry S, 1990. "The Decline of Unionization in the United States: What Can Be Learned from Recent Experience," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(1), pages 75-105, January.
    4. Freeman, Richard B, 1988. "Contraction and Expansion: The Divergence of Private Sector and Public Sector Unionism in the United States," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 63-88, Spring.
    5. Paula B. Voos, 1983. "Union Organizing: Costs and Benefits," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(4), pages 576-591, July.
    6. Barry T. Hirsch & David A. MacPherson, 2003. "Union Membership and Coverage Database from the Current Population Survey: Note," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(2), pages 349-354, January.
    7. Warren, Ronald S, Jr & Strauss, Robert P, 1979. "A Mixed Logit Model of the Relationship between Unionization and Right-to-Work Legislation: Comment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(3), pages 648-655, June.
    8. Reder, Melvin W, 1988. "The Rise and Fall of Unions: The Public Sector and the Private," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 89-110, Spring.
    9. A. J. Thieblot, 2006. "Perspectives on Union Corruption: Lessons from the Databases," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 27(4), pages 513-536, October.
    10. Paula B. Voos, 1984. "Trends in Union Organizing Expenditures, 1953–1977," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 38(1), pages 52-63, October.
    11. Neumann, George R & Rissman, Ellen R, 1984. "Where Have All the Union Members Gone?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(2), pages 175-192, April.
    12. Richard B. Freeman, 1981. "The Effect of Unionism on Fringe Benefits," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 34(4), pages 489-509, July.
    13. Orley Ashenfelter & John H. Pencavel, 1969. "American Trade Union Growth: 1900–1960," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 83(3), pages 434-448.
    14. Christopher Coombs, 2008. "The Decline in American Trade Union Membership and the “Government Substitution” Hypothesis:A Review of the Econometric Literature," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 99-113, June.
    15. Barry T. Hirsch, 1980. "The Determinants of Unionization: An Analysis of Interarea Differences," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 33(2), pages 147-161, January.
    16. Lumsden, Keith G & Petersen, Craig H, 1975. "The Effect of Right-to-Work Laws on Unionization in the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(6), pages 1237-1248, December.
    17. Moore, William J & Newman, Robert J & Scott, Loren C, 1989. "Welfare Expenditures and the Decline of Unions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 71(3), pages 538-542, August.
    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. Richard J. Cebula, 2019. "Labor market freedom and geographic differentials in the percentage unemployment rate in the U.S," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(4), pages 828-840, October.
    2. Richard J. Cebula & Gigi M. Alexander, 2020. "Economic and Noneconomic Factors Influencing Geographic Differentials in Homelessness: An Exploratory State‐Level Analysis," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 79(2), pages 511-540, March.

    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. Eunice S. Han, 2023. "The effect of changes in public sector bargaining laws on teacher union membership," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 133-158, March.
    2. Behroz Baraghoshi & Cihan Bilginsoy, 2013. "Interstate Variations in Private Sector Union Density in the U.S," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 180-202, June.
    3. Blanchflower, David G., 2006. "A Cross-Country Study of Union Membership," IZA Discussion Papers 2016, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Christopher Coombs & Robert Newman & Richard Cebula & Mary White, 2015. "The Bargaining Power of Health Care Unions and Union Wage Premiums for Registered Nurses," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 442-461, December.
    5. Schnabel, Claus, 2002. "Determinants of trade union membership," Discussion Papers 15, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    6. Nguyen, Justin Hung & Qiu, Buhui, 2022. "Right-to-Work laws and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Henry S. Farber & Bruce Western, 2000. "Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Decline of Unions in The Private Sector, 1973-1998," Working Papers 816, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    8. Barry T. Hirsch & Edward J. Schumacher, 2001. "Private Sector Union Density and the Wage Premium: Past, Present, and Future ," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(3), pages 487-518, July.
    9. Emin Dinlersoz & Jeremy Greenwood, 2012. "The Rise And Fall Of Unions In The U.S," Working Papers 12-12, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau, revised Jun 2013.
    10. Duca, John V. & Van Hoose, David D., 2001. "The Rise of Goods-Market Competition and the Fall of Nominal Wage Contracting: Endogenous Wage Contracting in a Multisector Economy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-29, January.
    11. W. Craig Riddell, 1993. "Unionization in Canada and the United States: A Tale of Two Countries," NBER Chapters, in: Small Differences That Matter: Labor Markets and Income Maintenance in Canada and the United States, pages 109-148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Daniel J. Galvin, 2021. "Labor’s Legacy: The Construction of Subnational Work Regulation," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(5), pages 1103-1131, October.
    13. Henry S. Farber & Bruce Western, 2000. "Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Decline of Unions in The Private Sector, 1973-1998," Working Papers 816, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    14. Michael Wallace & Todd E Vachon & Allen Hyde, 2022. "Two roads diverged: Legal context and changing levels of private and public sector union density in the US states, 1984–2019," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1539-1563, November.
    15. Wayne Edwards & Scott M. Fuess, Jr., 2005. "Declining Unionization: Do Fringe Benefits Matter?," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 31(4), pages 563-580, Fall.
    16. repec:eee:labchp:v:2:y:1986:i:c:p:1039-1089 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Henrys Farber, 2001. "Union Success in Representation Elections: Why Does Unit Size Matter?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 54(2), pages 329-348, January.
    18. repec:ilr:articl:v:65:y:2012:i:2:p:263-285 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. G L Clark & K Johnston, 1987. "The Geography of US Union Elections 5: Reconceptualizing the Theory of Industrial Unionism," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 19(6), pages 719-734, June.
    20. Ines Blohm & Sebastian Briel & Martina Pauly & Uta Heumann & Claudia Br lin, 2006. "Comparative Human Resource Management in the European Banking Sector: The Effect of Collective Bargaining Power on Working Conditions," LIS Working papers 450, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    21. 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.
    22. Eunice S. Han, 2023. "What did unions do for union workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 623-652, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J47 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Coercive Labor Markets
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy
    • J59 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Other

    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:indres:v:50:y:2011:i:1:p:131-148. 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=0019-8676 .

    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.