This article examines willingness to strike among 141 nonprofessional public school employees shortly before expiration of their contracts. A questionnaire asked respondents how many days they would participate in: any strike called by their union, regardless of the issue (or issues); a strike for a low (10%) wage increase; and a strike for a high (24%) wage increase. The results suggest that the individual worker characteristics predictive of willingness to strike vary substantially among different strike goals. For example, it appears that militancy is related to striking for a high wage increase, faithful union participation to striking in support of the union, and neither to striking for a low wage increase, suggesting that, contrary to a common assumption, not all strikes are sustained by “militant” workers.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AluttoJoseph A., and BelascoJames A.1974“Determinants of Attitudinal Militancy among Nurses and Teachers.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 27, No. 2 (January), pp. 216–27.
2.
AluttoJoseph A.HrebiniakLawrence G., and AlonsoRaymon C.1973“On Operationalizing the Concept of Commitment.”Social Forces, Vol. 51, No. 4 (June), pp. 448–54.
3.
AndersonJohn C.1979“Local Union Participation: A Re-examination.”Industrial Relations, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter), pp. 18–31.
4.
AshenfelterOrley, and JohnsonGeorge E.1969“Bargaining Theory, Trade Unions, and Industrial Strike Activity.”American Economic Review, Vol. 59, No. 1 (March), pp. 35–49.
5.
BeckerBrian1978“Hospital Unionism and Employment Stability.”Industrial Relations, Vol. 17, No. 1 (February), pp. 96–101.
6.
ClackGarfield1967Industrial Relations in a British Car Factory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7.
ColeStephen H.1969“Teachers' Strike: A Study of the Conversion of Predisposition into Action.”American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 74, No. 5 (March), pp. 506–20.
8.
DeanLois R.1954“Union Activity and Dual Loyalty.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 7, No. 4 (July), pp. 526–36.
9.
EflalBoaz1979“Internal Dynamics of a Labor Union in the Context of Bargaining with Management: Some Effects of Tough Bargaining and Costs Incurred upon Rank and File Morale and Satisfaction.” Ph.D. diss., Wayne State University, Detroit.
10.
FoxWilliam S., and WinceMichael H.1976“The Structure and Determinants of Occupational Militancy among Public School Teachers.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 30, No. 1 (October), pp. 47–58.
11.
GordonMichael E.PhilpotJohn W.BurtRobert E.ThompsonCynthia A., and SpillerWilliam E.1980“Commitment to the Union: Development of a Measure and an Examination of Its Correlates.”Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 65, No. 4 (August), pp. 479–99.
12.
HellriegelDonFrenchWendell, and PetersonRichard B.1970“Collective Negotiations and Teachers: A Behavioral Analysis.”Industrial and. Labor Relations Review, Vol. 23, No. 3 (April), pp. 380–96.
13.
HirschmanAlbert O.1970Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
14.
JascourtHugh, (ed.) 1979Government Labor Relations: Trends and Information for the Future. Oak Park, Ill.: Moore Publishing.
15.
KarshBernard1958Diary of a Strike. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
16.
KaufmanBruce E.1982“The Determinants of Strikes in the United States, 1900–1977.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 35, No. 4 (July), pp. 173–90.
17.
KochanThomas A.1980Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations. Homewood, Ill.: Richard D. Irwin.
18.
LawlerEdward E.1971Pay and Organizational Effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill.
19.
MaitlandIan1983The Causes of Industrial Disorder. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
20.
MartinJames E.1981“Dual Allegiance in Public Sector Unionism: A Case Study.”International Review of Applied Psychology, Vol. 30, No. 2 (April), pp. 245–60.
21.
O'ReillyCharles A.BloomJoan R., and ParlettNicholas G.1977“Professional Workers and Union Activity: The Impact of Individual and Contextual Factors on the Decision to Strike.” Paper presented at the 85th meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, California, August.
22.
PorterLyman W.SteersRichard M.MowdayRichard T., and BoulianPaul V.1974“Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Turnover among Psychiatric Technicians.”Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 59, No. 5 (October), pp. 603–9.
23.
SalancikGerald R.1977“Commitment and the Control of Organizational Behavior and Belief.” In StawBarry M. and SalancikGerald R., eds., New Directions in Organizational Behavior. Chicago: St. Clair Press, pp. 1–54.
24.
SaylesLeonard R., and StraussGeorge1953The Local Union: Its Place in the Industrial Plant. New York: Harper & Brothers.
25.
SchreisheimChester A., and TsuiAnn S.1980“Dual Commitment to Company and Union: Fact or Fiction?” Paper presented at the 40th annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Detroit, Michigan, August.
26.
SchuttRussell K.1982“Models of Militancy: Support for Strikes and Work Actions among Public Employees.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 35, No. 3 (April), pp. 406–22.
27.
ShalevMichael1980“Trade Unionism and Economic Analysis: The Case of Industrial Conflict.”Journal of Labor Research, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring), pp. 133–73.
28.
SkeelsJack W.1982“The Economic and Organizational Basis of Early United States Strikes, 1900–1948.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 35, No. 4 (July), pp. 491–503.
29.
SnarrD. Neil1975“Strikers and Nonstrikers: A Social Comparison.”Industrial Relations, Vol. 14, No. 3 (October), pp. 371–74.
30.
SnyderDavid1975“Institutional Setting and Industrial Conflict: Comparative Analyses of France, Italy and the United States.”American Sociological Review, Vol. 40, No. 3 (June), pp. 259–78.
31.
StagnerRossChalmersW. E., and DerberMilton1958“Guttman-type Scales for Union and Management Attitudes Toward Each Other.”Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 42, No. 5 (October), pp. 293–300.
32.
StagnerRoss, and EflalBoaz1982“Internal Union Dynamics During a Strike: A Quasi-Experimental Study.”Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 67, No. 1 (February), pp. 37–44.
33.
StagnerRoss, and RosenHjalmar1965Psychology of Union-Management Relations. Belmont, Calif.: Brooks/Cole.
34.
SternRobert N.1976“Intermetropolitan Patterns of Strike Frequency.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 29, No. 2 (January), pp. 218–35.
35.
StraussGeorge1977“Union Government in the United States: Research Past and Future.”Industrial Relations, Vol. 16, No. 2 (May), pp. 215–42.
36.
TannenbaumArnold S.1965“Unions.” In MarchJames G., ed., Handbook of Organizations. Chicago, Ill.: Rand McNally.
37.
WalkerJ. Malcolm, and LawlerJohn J.1979a“Dual Unions and Political Processes in Organizations.”Industrial Relations, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter), pp. 32–43.
38.
WalkerJ. Malcolm, and LawlerJohn J.1979b“Dual Unionism: A Behavioral Model.” Paper presented at the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Washington, D.C., April.
