Why have workers stopped joining unions? The rise in never-membership in Britain

Bryson, Alex and Gomez, Rafael (2005) Why have workers stopped joining unions? The rise in never-membership in Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 43 (1). 67 - 92. ISSN 0007-1080

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Abstract

This paper tracks the rise in the percentage of employees who have never become union members (‘never-member’) since the early 1980s and shows that it is the reduced likelihood of ever becoming a member, rather than the haemorrhaging of existing members, that is behind the decline in overall union membership in Britain. We estimate the determinants of ‘never-membership’ and consider how much of the rise can be explained by structural change in the labour market and how much by change in preferences among employees.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14678543
Additional Information:	© 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining > J51 - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials by Skill, Training, Occupation, etc. J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining > J50 - General
Date Deposited:	11 Aug 2005
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2024 22:55
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/360

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