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Are Mandated Health and Safety Committees Substitutes for or Supplements to Labor Unions?

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  • David Weil

Abstract

A subject of recurring debate in both academia and the business world is whether workplace committees and other forms of employee participation are substitutes for or supplements to labor unions. One well-established effect of unionization is increased enforcement of government labor policies such as OSHA; this study investigates the enforcement effects of mandated safety and health committees. A comparison of OSHA inspection records for the two years preceding and following the implementation of committee mandates in Oregon in 1991 shows that mandated committees significantly increased the differences between union and nonunion workplaces in OSHA enforcement, with enforcement strengthening considerably in union workplaces but edging upward only slightly in nonunion workplaces. The committees thus appear to have acted more as supplements to than substitutes for labor unions.

Suggested Citation

  • David Weil, 1999. "Are Mandated Health and Safety Committees Substitutes for or Supplements to Labor Unions?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 52(3), pages 339-360, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:52:y:1999:i:3:p:339-360
    DOI: 10.1177/001979399905200301
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard B. Freeman & Edward P. Lazear, 1995. "An Economic Analysis of Works Councils," NBER Chapters, in: Works Councils: Consultation, Representation, and Cooperation in Industrial Relations, pages 27-52, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Viscusi, W Kip & O'Connor, Charles J, 1984. "Adaptive Responses to Chemical Labeling: Are Workers Bayesian Decision Makers?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(5), pages 942-956, December.
    3. Joel Rogers & Wolfgang Streeck, 1995. "Works Councils: Consultation, Representation, and Cooperation in Industrial Relations," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number roge95-1.
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    1. Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser & Stephen C Smith, 2022. "Works councils and workplace health promotion in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(3), pages 1059-1094, August.
    2. A. Tarik Timur & Daphne Taras & Allen Ponak, 2012. "‘Shopping for Voice’: Do Pre-Existing Non-Union Representation Plans Matter When Employees Unionize?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(2), pages 214-238, June.
    3. Askildsen, Jan Erik & Jirjahn, Uwe & Smith, Stephen C., 2006. "Works councils and environmental investment: Theory and evidence from German panel data," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 346-372, July.

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