Working Paper: NBER ID: w20151
Authors: Emin Dinlersoz; Jeremy Greenwood; Henry Hyatt
Abstract: What type of businesses do unions target for organizing? A dynamic model of the union organizing process is constructed to answer this question. A union monitors establishments in an industry to learn about their productivity, and decides which ones to organize and when. An establishment becomes unionized if the union targets it for organizing and wins the union certification election. The model predicts two main selection effects: unions organizing occurs in larger and more productive establishments early in their life-cycles, and among the establishments targeted for organizing, unions are more likely to win elections in smaller and less productive ones. These predictions find support in union certification election data for 1977-2007 matched with data on establishment characteristics.
Keywords: unions; unionization; business lifecycle; establishment characteristics
JEL Codes: D24; E23; J5; J50; L23; L25
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Larger establishments (L68) | Higher likelihood of being targeted by a union for the first time (J51) |
| Larger establishments (L68) | Lower probability of union win in certification elections (J51) |
| Younger establishments (L26) | Higher likelihood of experiencing first certification election (J59) |
| Unionized establishments (J51) | Larger, older, and more productive than non-unionized ones (J51) |