IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jlabre/v38y2017i4d10.1007_s12122-017-9253-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What did Unions do? The Case of Illinois Coal Mining in the 1880s

Author

Listed:
  • William M. Boal

    (Drake University)

Abstract

This study asks what unions did for Illinois coal miners in the 1880s. It measures the outcomes provided by a traditional union and the Knights of Labor, primarily via difference-in-differences applied to a panel of coal mining counties in Illinois. Neither the traditional union nor the Knights of Labor was able to raise wages, provide benefits, or reduce hours per workday. The traditional union reduced days of work per year. Circumstantial evidence suggests the unions were able to ensure prompt payment of wages due.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jlabre:v:38:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s12122-017-9253-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s12122-017-9253-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12122-017-9253-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12122-017-9253-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard B. Freeman & James L. Medoff, 1979. "The Two Faces of Unionism," NBER Working Papers 0364, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Cameron,A. Colin & Trivedi,Pravin K., 2013. "Regression Analysis of Count Data," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107667273.
    3. Boyer, George R., 1988. "What Did Unions Do in Nineteenth-Century Britain?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(2), pages 319-332, June.
    4. 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.
    5. Booth,Alison L., 1994. "The Economics of the Trade Union," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521468398.
    6. Fishback, Price V., 1992. "Soft Coal, Hard Choices: The Economic Welfare of Bituminous Coal Miners, 1890-1930," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195067255.
    7. 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.
    8. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2004. "What Effect Do Unions Have on Wages Now and Would Freeman and Medoff Be Surprised?," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 25(3), pages 383-414, July.
    9. repec:eee:labchp:v:2:y:1986:i:c:p:1139-1181 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Boal, William M., 1994. "Union response to mechanization in U.S. bituminous coal," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(3-4), pages 243-267, September.
    11. Barry Eichengreen, 1987. "The Impact of Late Nineteenth-Century Unions on Labor Earnings and Hours: Iowa in 1894," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 40(4), pages 501-515, July.
    12. Debbie Mullin, 1998. "A New Look at the Union Wage Premium during the Early Years of the AFL," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 51(2), pages 253-268, January.
    13. William M. Boal & John Pencavel, 1994. "The Effects of Labor Unions on Employment, Wages, and Days of Operation: Coal Mining in West Virginia," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 267-298.
    14. Earle, John S & Pencavel, John, 1990. "Hours of Work and Trade Unionism," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(1), pages 150-174, January.
    15. William C. Birdsall, 1953. "The Problem of Structure in the Knights of Labor," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 6(4), pages 532-546, July.
    16. repec:bla:econom:v:61:y:1994:i:244:p:435-56 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Faith, Roger L. & Reid, Joseph Jr., 1987. "An agency theory of unionism," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 39-60, March.
    18. Patricia Dillon & Ira Gang, 1987. "Earnings Effects of Labor Organizations in 1890," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 40(4), pages 516-527, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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.
    2. Cassoni, Adriana & Labadie, Gastón J. & Fachola, Gabriela, 2002. "The Economic Effects of Unions in Latin America: Their Impact on Wages and the Economic Performance of Firms in Uruguay," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3283, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. A. Cassoni & G. Fachola & G. Labadie, 2001. "The impact of unions on the economic performance of firms," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1501, Department of Economics - dECON.
    4. Sigfrido Lee & Carmen Urizar H., 2003. "The Effects of Unions on Productivity: Evidence from Large Coffee Producers in Guatemala," Research Department Publications 3166, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    5. Jirjahn Uwe & Tsertsvadze Georgi, 2006. "Betriebsräte und Arbeitszufriedenheit / Works Councils and Job Satisfaction," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 226(5), pages 537-561, October.
    6. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Union Membership Peaks in Midlife," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 124-151, March.
    7. Adriana Cassoni, 1999. "Labour demand in Uruguay before and after re-unionisation," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0199, Department of Economics - dECON.
    8. Aidt, T.S. & Tzannatos, Z., 2005. "The Cost and Benefits of Collective Bargaining," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0541, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    9. Marco Francesconi & Carlos García Serrano, 2004. "Unions, Temporary Employment and Hours of Work: A Tale of Two Countries," Revista de Economía Laboral - Spanish Journal of Labour Economics, Asociación Española de Economía Laboral - AEET, vol. 1, pages 38-75.
    10. 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.
    11. Elisabetta Magnani & David Prentice, 2010. "Outsourcing And Unionization: A Tale Of Misallocated (Resistance) Resources," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 48(2), pages 460-482, April.
    12. Gerlach, Knut & Stephan, Gesine, 2005. "Tarifverträge und betriebliche Entlohnungsstrukturen," IAB-Discussion Paper 200520, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    13. David S. Lee & Alexandre Mas, 2012. "Long-Run Impacts of Unions on Firms: New Evidence from Financial Markets, 1961--1999," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(1), pages 333-378.
    14. Cento Veljanovski, 2021. "The Impact of Employers' Liability on 19th‐Century U.K. Coalmining Fatalities," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), pages 660-683, September.
    15. Alison Booth, 2012. "The Economic Behavior of Trade Unions," CEPR Discussion Papers 670, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    16. Andrew T. Young & Hernando Zuleta, 2016. "Golden Rules of Wages," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(1), pages 253-270, July.
    17. Price V. Fishback, 2006. "The Irony of Reform. Did Large Employers Subvert Workplace Safety Reform, 1869 to 1930?," NBER Chapters, in: Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History, pages 285-318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Javier Silvestre & John E. Murray, 2023. "Determinants in the adoption of a non-labor-substitution technology: mechanical ventilation in West Virginia coal mines, 1898–1907," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 17(3), pages 467-500, September.
    19. repec:wvu:wpaper:11-06 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Aaron J. Sojourner & Brigham R. Frandsen & Robert J. Town & David C. Grabowski & Min M. Chen, 2015. "Impacts of Unionization on Quality and Productivity," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(4), pages 771-806, August.
    21. S. Dobbelaere, 2003. "Joint Estimation of Price-Cost Margins and Union Bargaining Power for Belgian Manufacturing," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 03/171, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Coal industry; Early unions; Knights of Labor;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • L71 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Mining, Extraction, and Refining: Hydrocarbon Fuels
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N51 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

    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:spr:jlabre:v:38:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s12122-017-9253-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.