The union default: Increasing union membership by facilitating the experience of unionism and overcoming the role of inertia

Abstract

By understanding both the role of unions as an ‘experience good’ and the place of inertia in contributing to the prevalence of non-unionism, this article suggests that a union default could have a major impact in recruiting new members. Drawing upon a sub-sample of non-union workers in unionised workplaces from a study conducted in New Zealand, the authors show that a significant minority would stay in membership and support a union default. These results have positive implications for understanding how to shape the preferences of non-union workers in union and non-union workplaces.