Why Managers Join Unions: Evidence from Britain

Determinants of Union Membership: A Review

“…Year Sample Country Dependent variable Analysis Poole et al 1983 Random selection of members and fellows of the clerical/sales(for men, 10%), secondary industry(for men, 10%), urban location(for men, 10%), ǹ(for women, 10%), satisfaction with: #job challenge(for men, 10%), ǹ(for women, 10%), union instrumentalityǹ(for men, 10%), (for women, 10%), ease of finding a job(for women, 10%), negative union image(for men, 10%), "workers should impact on pay and conditions"ǹ(for men, 10%), negative union leader image(for men, 10%) managerial work, clerical/sales (for women), non-white, craftworker, secondary industry (for women), public administration, service sector, located in the south of the USA, satisfaction with working conditions, ease of finding a job (for men), negative union image (for women), "workers should impact on pay and conditions" (for women), negative union leader image (for women) Gomez-Mejia & Balkin 1984 satisfaction with pay(1%)…”

“…Payne 1989 salaryǹ(0.1%), managerial job(0.1%), part-time workerǹ(5% for women), physical/manual workǹ90.1%), professional(0.1%), high level of education(0.1% for men), number of previous jobs held(1% for men, 0.1% for women), time spent outside the labour force(5% for women), work experienceǹ(5% for women), number of dependent children(5%), amount of vocational training received: medium: (5% for men), none/high: ǹ(5% for men), industry unemployment: mediumǹ(0.1%), high/low(0.1%), industry covered by collective agreementǹ(0.1%), public sectorǹ(0.1%), trade union recognisedǹ(0.1%), regional unemploymentǹ(0.1%), establishment sizeǹ(0.1%) part-time worker (for men) marital status, high level of education (for women), number of current jobs, time spent outside the labour force (for men), work experience (for men), number of dependent children (for men), amount of vocational training received (for women), length of time spent being unemployed Poole et al 1983 salary(0.1%), male(5%), long working hours(0.1%), high hierarchical rank(0.1%), length of employment with present employerǹ(0.1%), public sectorǹ(0.1%), trade union recognisedǹ(0.1%), union presence at management levelǹ(0.1%), establishment sizeǹ(0.1%), satisfaction with: #job security(0.1%), #promotionsǹ(5%), #job selfesteemǹ(0.1%), #opportunities for independent thought/ action on the jobǹ(0.1%), commitment to shareholders' interests(0.1%), "employees need strong unions"ǹ(0.1%), prestige of father's occupation(0.1%), "union membership affects promotion adversely"ǹ(0.1%), hostility towards trade union power(0.1%), "professional norms should be enforced by professional bodies"(5%), support for governmental economic, labour relations and social security policies ( (10%), physical/manual workǹ(10%), high level of education(1%), SPD voterǹ(10%). FDP voterǹ(1%), "Beamter" ("civil servant")ǹ(10%), public sectorǹ(10%), declining industryǹ(5%), average income of industryǹ(10%), establishment sizeǹ(10%), trust in unionǹ (10%) age, marital status, skilled/assembly work, CDU voter, Green voter, blue-collar status of father…”

Why Do Workers Belong to a Trade Union?: A Social Psychological Study in the UK Electronics Industry

“…More recent reviews (Block and Premack, 1983;Fiorito and Gallagher, 1986) have concluded that dissatisfaction with job content and status are also important influences, especially among white-collar and professional workers (see also Kochan, 1979). However, in one of the few pieces of relevant British research, a cross-sectional study of British Institute of Management members, no relationship was found between job dissatisfaction and current trade union membership (Poole, Mansfield, Frost and Blyton, 1983).…”

“…That which is available (e.g. Cook et al, 1975;Mercier and Weir, 1972;Poole et al, 1983) is based on poorly controlled cross-sectional samples and only the study by Poole et al, makes a serious attempt to test competing theories. The research described below is an attempt to remedy this deficit by testing the three main social-psychological theories alongside the labour-economic explanations within one study using a more carefully controlled sample.…”

The Union Membership of Nurses: Another Look

“…The strongest contention to this effect has undoubtedly come from Undy et al, [6] although the details of their argument appear to contain a number of notable conceptual [7] and empirical weaknesses [8]. Nevertheless some recent empirical research in Britain has, for example, shown that both the presence and recognition of an appropriate union were significantly related to the union membership status of managers [9], while the lack of a union presence was found to be important in explaining the non-union status of a sizeable proportion of younger workers [10]. To these two sets of findings can be added the results of the present study, which emphasise that the current recruitment attempts and successes of individual unions tend to be disproportionately concentrated in familiar areas and locations where historical membership concentrations have facilitated a significant organisational presence and an all-important network of interpersonal relationships.…”