This article examines the male-female difference in propensity to unionize. Logit analysis is used to estimate a series of voter predisposition equations for the unorganized employees included in a national survey of working conditions. Measures of employee background, labor force location, and family responsibilities are included as explanatory variables. The results indicate that women are more likely than men to desire union representation, a difference attributable in part to more favorable beliefs and attitudinal valence regarding unions. The tendency of previous analysts to infer the propensities of women workers from union membership differences is criticized, and the implications for unionism of the changing sex composition of the work force are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ANTOS, J. R.
, M. CHANDLER, and W. MELLOW (1980) “Sex differences in union membership.”Industrial and Labor Relations Rev.33 (January): 162-169.
2.
BELL, D.
(1953) “The next American labor movement.”Fortune (April): 120-123.
3.
BERNSTEIN, I.
(1961) “The growth of American unions, 1945-1960.”Labor History2 (Spring): 131-157.
4.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
(1981) Earnings and Other Characteristics of Organized Workers. Bulletin 2105 (May).
5.
COHANY, H. P.
and L. M. DEWEY (1970) “Union membership among government employees.”Monthly Labor Rev.93 (July): 15-20.
6.
DEWEY, L. M.
(1971) “Women in labor unions.”Monthly Labor Rev.94 (February): 42-48.
7.
DUNCAN, G. M.
and D. E. LEIGH (1980) “Wage determination in the union and nonunion sectors: a sample selectivity approach.”Industrial and Labor Relations Rev.34 (October): 24-34.
8.
DUNCAN, J.
and F. P. STAFFORD (1980) “Do union members receive compensating wage differentials?”Amer. Econ. Rev.120 (June): 355-371.
9.
FARBER, H. S.
and D. H. SAKS (1980) “Why workers want unions: the role of relative wages and job characteristics.”J. of Pol. Economy88(April): 349-369.
10.
FIORITO, J.
(1982) “Determinants of U.S. unionism: past research and future needs.”Industrial Relations21(Winter): 1-32.
11.
FULLERTON, H. N.
(1980) “The 1995 labor force: a first look.”Monthly Labor Rev. (December): 11-21.
12.
GETMAN, J. G.
, S. B. GOLDBERT, and J. B. HERMAN (1976) Union Representation Elections: Law and Reality. New York: Russell Sage.
13.
HANUSHEK, E. A.
and J. E. JACKSON (1977) Statistical Methods for Social Scientists. New York: Academic Press.
14.
HIRSCH, B. T.
(1980) “The determinants of unionization: an analysis of interarea differences.”Industrial and Labor Relations Rev.83(January): 147-161.
15.
KASSALOW, E.
(1966) “White-collar unionism in the United States,” pp. 305-364 in A. Sturmthal (ed.) White-Collar Trade Unions. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.
16.
KOCHAN, T. A.
(1979) “How American workers view labor unions.”Monthly Labor Rev.102(April): 23-31.
17.
KORNHAUSER, R.
(1961) “Some social determinants and consequences of union membership.”Labor History2(Winter): 30-61.
18.
LIPSET, S. M.
(1967) “White collar workers and professionals—their attitudes and behavior towards unions,” pp. 525-548 in W. A. Faunce (ed.) Readings in Industrial Sociology. New York: Appleton-Century-Croft.
19.
LOCKWOOD, D.
(1958) The Blackcoated Worker. London: Allen & Unwin.
20.
MOORE, W. J.
and R. J. NEWMAN (1975) “On the prospects for American trade union growth: a cross-sectional analysis.”Rev. of Economics and Statistics57(November): 435-445.
21.
QUINN, R. P.
and G. L. Staines (1979) The 1977 Quality of Employment Survey. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
22.
SCHRIESHEIM, C. A.
(1978) “Job satisfaction, attitudes toward unions, and voting in a union representation election.”J. of Applied Psychology63: 548-552.
23.
SCOVILLE, J. G.
(1971) “Influences on unionization in the U.S. in 1966.”Industrial Relations10(October): 354-361.
24.
SUTTON, J. R.
(1980) “Some determinants of women's trade union membership.”Pacific Soc. Rev.23(October): 377-391.
25.
TAFT, P.
(1963) “Is there a crisis in the labor movement? No,” pp. 10-15 in S. Barkin and A. Blum (eds.) The Crisis in the American Trade Union Movement. Philadelphia: American Academy of Political and Social Science.
26.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
(1982) Nonreferral Unions and Equal Opportunity Employment. A report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (March).
