Employee beliefs about the consequences of a union default: Implications for support and intention to remain in union membership

Abstract

Union decline and the ‘representation gap’ are two commonly recognised and interrelated phenomena. Numerous proposals have been made to solve this double-sided problem. One of the most radical is to conceive of a union default, where the default position is union membership. This article seeks to understand how employee beliefs about the consequences of union membership, both positive and negative, would influence whether (i) workers would support or oppose a union default, and (ii) workers would maintain membership once defaulted into it given the availability of an opt-out. The findings show that workers’ beliefs about the consequences of a union default have a major impact on whether they support or oppose a default and would stay in membership or opt out. The article draws out the implications for public policy makers seeking to introduce a union default.