Public support for a union default: Predicting factors and implications for public policy

Abstract

Drawing on survey findings, in this article the authors examine levels of public support in New Zealand for a union default. The key findings are that support is high (59%), that support is principally predicted by a belief in the default’s effectiveness for improving employees’ lives, and that this belief mediates a number of other predictors, such as union membership, non-union by choice, political party, household income, gender and age. There are strong grounds for believing this would translate into actual support for a union default and a consequent rise in union membership. These findings are contextualised with regard to Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States, where the authors draw out the implications for public policy and how a union default could be operationalised in the countries under study.

The union default: Effects and implications of regulated opting‐out

“…Moreover, our sample was not obviously weighted towards respondents with more positive opinions of the default, given that pro‐union groups such as younger workers and non‐voters were under‐represented. In addition, the levels of support we observed were similar to a previous NZ study of the default (Harcourt et al, 2020).…”

“…Findings indicate majority (56.1% for the control group) support a default proposal among NZ employees, consistent with what was found (59%) for a sample of the total population in an earlier NZ study (Harcourt et al, 2020, p. 1). However, levels of support and propensities to remain in membership vary across groups, mostly in ways expected.…”

“…Higher‐income workers were expected to believe they have more control over their economic destinies, more individual bargaining power, and, thus, less need for union representation. Conversely, we expect lower‐income workers to believe the reverse and, thus, have more need for union representation in the workplace and political arena, too (Harcourt et al, 2020). Research does confirm collective bargaining has a greater impact on the earnings of lower‐ than higher‐income workers (Card, 2001), and egalitarian union pay norms even produce pay suppression for top management (Huang et al, 2017).…”

“…Research suggests a union default would garner majority support and, wherever available, prompt most workers to join unions. A 2018 survey indicated 59% of New Zealand (NZ) adults supported introducing a union default (Harcourt et al, 2020, p. 1). Likewise, a 2020 survey indicated 65% of NZ‐domiciled employees said they would remain union members if automatically enrolled (Harcourt, Gall, & Wilson et al, 2021, p. 116).…”

The effects of public goods framing for a union default policy

“…Prior research explored how a union default would work in practice, and could be adapted to suit different employment relations regimes, including those in Britain and the US (Harcourt et al, 2021). New Zealand (NZ) studies have shown a default would attract majority support and prompt nearly two-thirds of workers to remain in unions, after being defaulted (Harcourt et al, 2020(Harcourt et al, , 2021. Notwithstanding some differences in density rates and some variations in institutional architecture, the union default is likely, we believe, to be comparably well received in other Anglophone countries, where preferences for union representation are similar to those in NZ (Freeman et al, 2007).…”