In this article an examination is made of the extent to which employees in family businesses are members of unions compared to workers in non-family businesses and of the extent to which owners collaborate with trade unions. The analyses demonstrate that the percentage of union members in family businesses with a family CEO (owner-management), controlling for other factors, is significantly lower than in family businesses with CEOs who are not related or in non-family businesses. Theoretically, there are two possible explanations for this finding. The workers may abstain from joining a union because they are unwilling to bear the brunt of opposing an authoritarian owner-manager. Or, alternatively, the owner-manager may treat the employees so well that they see no need for a trade union. The analyses indicate that lower union density in owner-managed enterprises is associated with a higher wage level. This result lends support to the second explanation.
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