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Science 13 November 1987:
Vol. 238. no. 4829, pp. 915 - 920
DOI: 10.1126/science.238.4829.915
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Articles

The Recent Decline of Unionization in the United States

HENRY S. FARBER 1

1 Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.

The dramatic decline in unionization during the last decade is investigated with the use of survey data from 1977 and 1984. First, it is found that only a small fraction of the decline in unionization can be accounted for by shifts in labor force structure. Second, there has been a substantial drop in demand for union representation among nonunion workers that can be accounted for by an increase in the job satisfaction of nonunion workers and a decrease in nonunion workers' reports that unions improve wages and working conditions. Finally, there has been a substantial increase in employer resistance to unionization that is likely to have made it more difficult for unions to organize even those workers who desire union representation. Increased foreign and increased nonunion domestic competition (particularly in deregulated industries) may be key underlying causes of these changes.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Empire and the Business of Health Insurance.
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Journal of Health Politics Policy and Law 16, 747-760
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Labor Union Involvement in Occupational Safety and Health, 1957 1987.
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Journal of Health Politics Policy and Law 13, 453-468
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Adaptability of the U.S. Industrial Relations System.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)