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Coal Mine Safety: Do Unions Make a Difference?

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  • Alison D. Morantz

Abstract

Although the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) has always advocated strongly for miners' safety, the empirical literature contains no evidence that unionization reduced mine injuries or fatalities during the 1970s and ′80s. The author uses an updated methodology and a more comprehensive data set than previous studies to examine the relationship between unionization and underground, bituminous coal mine safety from 1993 to 2010. She finds that unionization predicts a substantial and statistically significant decline in traumatic injuries and fatalities, the two safety measures that are the least prone to reporting bias. These results are especially pronounced among larger mines. Overall, unionization is associated with a 14 to 32% drop in traumatic injuries and a 29 to 83% drop in fatalities. Yet unionization also predicts higher total and nontraumatic injuries, suggesting that injury reporting practices differ between union and nonunion mines.

Suggested Citation

  • Alison D. Morantz, 2013. "Coal Mine Safety: Do Unions Make a Difference?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(1), pages 88-116, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:66:y:2013:i:1:p:88-116
    DOI: 10.1177/001979391306600104
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Barry Reilly & Pierella Paci & Peter Holl, 1995. "Unions, Safety Committees and Workplace Injuries," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 275-288, June.
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    3. Fishback, Price V., 1986. "Workplace safety during the progressive era: Fatal accidents in bituminous coal mining, 1912-1923," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 269-298, July.
    4. Barry T. Hirsch & David A. MacPherson & J. Michael Dumond, 1997. "Workers#x0027; Compensation Recipiency in Union and Nonunion Workplaces," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(2), pages 213-236, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ling Li & Shawn Rohlin & Perry Singleton, 2017. "Labor Unions and Occupational Safety: Event-Study Analysis Using Union Elections," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 205, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    2. Boal, William M., 2018. "Work intensity and worker safety in early twentieth-century coal mining," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 132-149.
    3. William M. Boal, 2017. "What did Unions do? The Case of Illinois Coal Mining in the 1880s," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 439-474, December.
    4. Athina Economou & Ioannis Theodossiou, 2015. "Join the Union and Be Safe: The Effects of Unionization on Occupational Safety and Health in the European Union," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(2), pages 127-140, June.
    5. Ling Li & Perry Singleton, 2019. "The Effect of Workplace Inspections on Worker Safety," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(3), pages 718-748, May.
    6. Caskey, Judson & Ozel, N. Bugra, 2017. "Earnings expectations and employee safety," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 121-141.
    7. Kimberly ChristenseN, 2014. "'Dark as a dungeon': technological change and government policy in the deunionization of the American coal industry," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 147-170, April.
    8. Christensen, Hans B. & Floyd, Eric & Liu, Lisa Yao & Maffett, Mark, 2017. "The real effects of mandated information on social responsibility in financial reports: Evidence from mine-safety records," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 284-304.

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