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Union Membership and Perceived Job Insecurity: Thirty Years of Evidence from the American General Social Survey

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  • Pierre Brochu
  • Louis-Philippe Morin

Abstract

Using the American General Social Survey covering the period 1978–2008, the authors investigate the link between union membership and perceived job insecurity. They find that overall, union members are 3.5 percentage points more likely than non-union members to feel insecure about their current jobs as well as future job prospects, especially during recessionary periods. This result is twice that in the manufacturing sector. By contrast, there is virtually no union effect on job insecurity in transportation, communication, and other services sectors. The use of instrumental-variables estimation methods and attitudinal proxy variables indicates that the positive correlation between union membership and perceived job insecurity is not due to self-selection, nor it is related to the decline of unionism in the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre Brochu & Louis-Philippe Morin, 2012. "Union Membership and Perceived Job Insecurity: Thirty Years of Evidence from the American General Social Survey," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 263-285, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:65:y:2012:i:2:p:263-285
    DOI: 10.1177/001979391206500204
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Benjamin Artz & Ilker Kaya, 2014. "Job insecurity and job satisfaction in the United States: the case of public sector union workers," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 103-120, March.
    4. Tomohiko Noda & Daisuke Hirano, 2024. "The effect of enterprise unions on employment adjustment speed in Japanese firms," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(3), pages 645-669, September.
    5. Jeff Chan, 2019. "Labour market characteristics and surviving import shocks," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 1288-1315, May.
    6. Björn Becker & Laszlo Goerke & Yue Huang, 2024. "Trade Union Membership and Life Satisfaction," IAAEU Discussion Papers 202408, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    7. Masanori Kuroki, 2016. "An Analysis of Perceptions of Job Insecurity among White and Black Workers in the United States: 1977–2012," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 43(3), pages 289-300, December.

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