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Dropping the Ax: Illegal Firings During Union Election Campaigns

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  • John Schmitt
  • Ben Zipperer

Abstract

This report finds a steep rise in illegal firings of pro-union workers in the 2000s relative to the last half of the 1990s. It uses published data from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to update an index of the probability that a pro-union worker will be fired in the course of a union election campaign. By 2005, pro-union workers involved in union election campaigns faced about a 1.8 percent chance of being illegally fired during the course of the campaign. If we assume that employers target union organizers and activists, and that union organizers and activists make up about 10 percent of pro-union workers, our estimates suggest that almost one-in-five union organizers or activists can expect to be fired as a result of their activities in a union election campaign.

Suggested Citation

  • John Schmitt & Ben Zipperer, 2007. "Dropping the Ax: Illegal Firings During Union Election Campaigns," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2007-01, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
    • Handle: RePEc:epo:papers:2007-01
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    File URL: http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/unions_2007_01.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard B. Freeman, 2005. "What Do Unions Do?-- The 2004 M-Brane Stringtwister Edition," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 26(4), pages 641-668, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser & Uschi Backes‐Gellner, 2011. "Works Councils and Learning: On the Dynamic Dimension of Codetermination," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(3), pages 427-447, August.
    2. Uwe Jirjahn & Steffen Mueller, 2014. "Non-union worker representation, foreign owners, and the performance of establishments," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(1), pages 140-163, January.
    3. Cedric E. Dawkins, 2019. "A Normative Argument for Independent Voice and Labor Unions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 1153-1165, April.
    4. Jirjahn, Uwe & Mohrenweiser, Jens, 2013. "Active owners and the failure of newly adopted works councils," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-080, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Kristin M. Sziarto, 2008. "Placing Legitimacy: Organising Religious Support In A Hospital Workers’ Contract Campaign1," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 99(4), pages 406-425, September.
    6. John Schmitt & Alexandra Mitukiewicz, 2012. "Politics matter: changes in unionisation rates in rich countries, 1960–2010," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 260-280, May.
    7. Uwe Jirjahn, 2009. "The Introduction of Works Councils in German Establishments — Rent Seeking or Rent Protection?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(3), pages 521-545, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy
    • J83 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Workers' Rights
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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