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Unions Increase Job Satisfaction in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Ben Artz

    (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh)

  • David G. Blanchflower

    (Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, NBER and Bloomberg)

  • Alex Bryson

    (University College London. IZA, Bonn. NIESR, London)

Abstract

In this paper we revisit the well-known negative association between union coverage and individuals’ job satisfaction in the United States, first identified over forty years ago. We find the association has flipped since the Great Recession such that union workers are now more satisfied than their non-union counterparts. We show this to be the case for younger and older workers in the National Longitudinal Surveys of 1979 and 1997. The change is apparent when we use the panel data to account for fixed differences in those who are and are not unionized, suggesting changes in worker sorting into union status are not the reason for the change. The absence of substantial change in the union wage gap, and the stability of results when conditioning on wages, both suggest the change is not associated with changes in unions’ wage bargaining. Instead, we find some diminution in unions’ ability to lower quit rates – albeit confined to older workers - which is suggestive of a decline in their effectiveness in operating as a ‘voice’ mechanism for unionized workers. We also present evidence suggestive of unions’ ability to minimize covered workers’ exposure to underemployment, a phenomenon that has negatively impacted non-union workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Artz & David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2021. "Unions Increase Job Satisfaction in the United States," DoQSS Working Papers 21-13, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
  • Handle: RePEc:qss:dqsswp:2113
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Goerke, Laszlo & Huang, Yue, 2022. "Job satisfaction and trade union membership in Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Addison, John T. & Teixeira, Paulino, 2022. "Worker Satisfaction and Worker Representation: The Jury Is Still Out," IZA Discussion Papers 15809, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson & Colin Green, 2022. "Trade unions and the well‐being of workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 255-277, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job satisfaction; union coverage; union wage gap; quits; underemployment; panel; NLSY;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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