Using CPS data for 1977-2002, the author investigates the extent to which the threat of union organization increases nonunion wages and reduces the union/ nonunion wage differential. The results are mixed. Estimates employing the predicted probability of union membership as a measure of the union threat show no important link between the union threat and either nonunion wages or the union wage gap. Estimates focusing on two states' introduction of right-to-work laws, which arguably affect the threat of union organization independently of changes in labor demand, show that in one state the law was associated with a statistically significant drop in nonunion wages. Finally, an analysis of wage data for three industries that underwent deregulation-another natural experiment in which labor demand changes are unlikely to have been a complicating factor-yields stronger evidence of threat effects on nonunion wages than do either of the other two analyses.
Issued quarterly since October 1947, the Industrial & Labor Relations Review is a leading interdisciplinary journal, broad in scope and international in its coverage of work and employment issues. We also publish reviews of some 20 books per year. We define industrial relations to include a broad range of market, organizational, and institutional processes related to the world of work. Relevant topics include the organization of work, the nature of employment contracts, human resource management, employment relations, conflict management and dispute resolution, labor market dynamics and policies, labor and employment law, and employee attitudes and behaviors at work. Our articles are edited with the aim of making their findings and conclusions intelligible to all readers.
Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 900 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company’s continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. www.sagepublishing.com
This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
For terms and use, please refer to our
ILR Review