Trends in Union Organizing Expenditures,1953–1977

Abstract

This paper tests the charge by some observers that one reason for the decline in unions' share of private sector employment has been a decline in their commitment to growth. The author presents several measures of the organizing expenditures of 27 national unions, representing about one-half of all union members in this country, over the 1953–77 period. These data show that organizing expenditures rose significantly over that period, whether measured in current or constant dollars, although they declined slightly as a proportion of total union expenditures.