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The Use of Replacement Workers in Union Contract Negotiations: The U.S. Experience, 1980-1989

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  • Cramton, Peter
  • Tracy, Joseph

Abstract

It is argued in many circles that a structural change occurred in U.S. collective bargaining in the 1980s. The authors investigate the extent to which the hiring of replacement workers can account for these changes. For a sample of over 300 major strikes since 1980, they estimate the likelihood of replacements being hired. Reducing the replacement risk to the pre-1982 levels would have led to a reduction in the dispute incidence by 5 percentage points, an increase in the fraction of disputes involving a strike by 4 percentage points, and an increase in the strike incidence by 0.8 percentage points. Copyright 1998 by University of Chicago Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Cramton, Peter & Tracy, Joseph, 1998. "The Use of Replacement Workers in Union Contract Negotiations: The U.S. Experience, 1980-1989," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(4), pages 667-701, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:v:16:y:1998:i:4:p:667-701
    DOI: 10.1086/209902
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    Cited by:

    1. Jonathan Gruber & Samuel A. Kleiner, 2012. "Do Strikes Kill? Evidence from New York State," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 127-157, February.
    2. David M. Frankel, 2010. "Rent Seeking and Economic Fragility," Levine's Bibliography 661465000000000159, UCLA Department of Economics.
    3. Barry T. Hirsch, 2008. "Sluggish Institutions in a Dynamic World: Can Unions and Industrial Competition Coexist?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 153-176, Winter.
    4. Jesse A. Schwartz & Quan Wen, 2006. "Wage Bargaining Under the National Labor Relations Act," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 1017-1039, December.
    5. Henry S. Farber & Bruce Western, 2000. "Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Decline of Unions in The Private Sector, 1973-1998," Working Papers 816, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    6. Bastos, Paulo & Kreickemeier, Udo & Wright, Peter, 2009. "Oligopoly, open shop unions and trade liberalisation," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 679-686, November.
    7. Barry T. Hirsch, 2012. "Unions, dynamism, and economic performance," Chapters, in: Cynthia L. Estlund & Michael L. Wachter (ed.), Research Handbook on the Economics of Labor and Employment Law, chapter 4, pages 107-145, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Landeo, Claudia & Nikitin, Maxim, 2015. "Effective Labor Relations Laws and Social Welfare," Working Papers 2015-11, University of Alberta, Department of Economics.
    9. John Kallas, 2023. "Retooling militancy: Labour revitalization and fixed‐duration strikes," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 68-88, March.
    10. Paulo Bastos & Udo Kreickemeier & Peter W. Wright, 2010. "Open‐shop unions and product market competition," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(2), pages 640-662, May.
    11. Suresh Naidu, 2022. "Is There Any Future for a US Labor Movement?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 3-28, Fall.
    12. Henry S. Farber & Bruce Western, 2000. "Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Decline of Unions in The Private Sector, 1973-1998," Working Papers 816, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..

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    JEL classification:

    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation

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