The unprecedented secular decline in U.S. unionization has been attributed to plant shutdowns stemming from capital mobility out of the unionized Northern industrial regions to the “Sunbelt.” The effects of local union environment and structure on local union turnover and aging—increasing mean local union age—are examined with a study of 168 local labor unions of the United Furniture Workers between 1963 and 1981. The results suggest that local union size, more than geographical location, affects the chances of a local union closing due to a plant shutdown. Based on population ecology and resource dependence perspectives, the study suggests that the declining capacity of unions to charter large locals, more than geographical capital redistribution, has led to local union aging and union decline.
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