The Attitudes of Union and Nonunion Male Workers toward Union Representation

Abstract

This study finds striking differences in attitudes toward union representation between union and nonunion workers in the U.S. labor force. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of 1980 show that if a certification election were held at the workplace of the men aged 28 to 38 who were sampled, 87 percent of those already covered by a union contract said they would vote for union representation, whereas only 27 percent of the nonunion workers said they would do so. Among the nonunion workers, however, attitudes differed sharply by race and industry, as pro-union attitudes were more widespread among blacks than whites and among workers in government and construction than those in other industries. The author tested the effect of several possible determinants of attitudes, such as degree of job satisfaction, occupation, pay rate, and region of residence. Many of these factors were significantly related to union attitudes, but including them in a multivariate analysis did little to change the differences in attitude across industries.