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The Determinants of Trade Union Membership in Britain: A Survey of the Literature

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  • Bob Mason
  • Peter Bain

Abstract

Trade union density, defined as the number of union members divided by the total number of workers, fell in Britain from 55% in 1979 to about 41% in 1989. (By comparison, the corresponding U.S. figures for those years are 23% and 16%.) Even before the decline began, British scholars and practitioners began focusing increasing attention on the determinants of union growth and decline. This literature review traces debate on the subject in Britain to the work of George Bain and his colleagues starting in the mid-1970s, and examines several key contributions of more recent years. The authors differentiate “structuralist†studies, which emphasize environmental determinants of union membership (such as the business cycle), from “interventionist†studies, which place more emphasis on the influence of unions themselves (through the involvement of full-time officials in recruiting, for example).

Suggested Citation

  • Bob Mason & Peter Bain, 1993. "The Determinants of Trade Union Membership in Britain: A Survey of the Literature," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 46(2), pages 332-351, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:46:y:1993:i:2:p:332-351
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    Cited by:

    1. Glynne Williams & Martin Quinn, 2014. "Macmillan's children? Young workers and trade unions in the early 1960s," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 137-152, March.
    2. Robin Naylor, 1995. "Unions in Decline?," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 22, pages 127-142.
    3. Jeremy Waddington & Allan Kerr, 2015. "Joining UNISON: does the reform of a union organising strategy change how members perceive their recruitment?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 187-207, May.
    4. Schnabel, Claus, 2002. "Determinants of trade union membership," Discussion Papers 15, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    5. Jeremy Waddington & Allan Kerr, 2009. "Transforming a Trade Union? An Assessment of the Introduction of an Organizing Initiative," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(1), pages 27-54, March.
    6. Dribbusch, Heiner, 2005. "Trade Union Organising in Private Sector Services : Findings from the British, Dutch and German retail industry," WSI Working Papers 136, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    7. 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.
    8. Paul Geroski & Paul Gregg & Thibaut Desjonqueres, 1995. "Did the Retreat of UK Trade Unionism Accelerate during the 1990–1993 Recession?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 35-54, March.
    9. Molefe Jonathan Maleka, 2018. "The Biographical and Human Resource Management Predictors of Union Membership Engagement of Low- and Middle-Income Workers," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 10(1), pages 207-216.

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