Why Do Non–union Employees Want to Unionize? Evidence from Britain
| Author | Andy Charlwood |
| Published date | 01 September 2002 |
| Date | 01 September 2002 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8543.00243 |
Why Do Non-union Employees Want to
Unionize? Evidence from Britain
Andy Charlwood
Abstract
This paper assesses the determinants of the level of support for union member-
ship among non-union employees. Using data from a representative sample of
non-union employees in Great Britain, the research confirms the importance
of job dissatisfaction, left-wing views and perceived union instrumentality as
predictors of willingness to join a trade union, union instrumentality being the
most significant.
1. Introduction
Union membership, influence and power in Great Britain fell dramatically
between 1979 and 1998. In 1979 membership stood at 12.9 million, and
collective bargaining coverage extended over 70 per cent of the work-force.
By 1998 membership stood at 7.8 million, while coverage had declined to
36 per cent (Metcalf 2001: 2–3). Membership decline has since bottomed
out, but there appears to be little sign of a revival in union fortunes (Sneade
2001). Surveying the evidence provided by successive workplace industrial
relations surveys, Millward et al. (2000: 92) argued that there has been a
‘withering of support’ for trade unionism among British employees. Towers
(1997: 206–7) took a contrary view. He argued that union decline resulted in
a ‘representation gap’. Therefore desire for representation on the part of
the non-union work-force offers the union movement the opportunity for
renewed growth. (Pencavel (2001: 40) surveys this debate and argues that the
balance of evidence supports Millward et al. rather than Towers.)
This paper will test the proposition that there is a representation gap
arising from a frustrated demand for union membership among non-union
employees. The central aim is to investigate the determinants of willingness
to join a union so that theoretical propositions about the conditions under
which employees desire unionization can be tested. This is the first time such
Andy Charlwood is at the Canterbury Business School, University of Kent, and the Centre for
Economic Performance, London School of Economics.
British Journal of Industrial Relations
40:3 September 2002 0007–1080 pp. 463–491
#Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics 2002. Published by Blackwell Publishers Ltd,
108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
an analysis has been carried out using British data. The issue of why and in
what conditions British employees want to unionize has become particularly
relevant since the introduction of a statutory procedure for trade union
recognition as part of the 1999 Employment Relations Act. (See Wood and
Godard 1999 for an explanation of the recognition procedure, and com-
parison with North American arrangements.) This article cannot predict the
effect of the recognition procedure embodied in the ERA on union mem-
bership — that depends on, among other things, the way in which the Act
works in practice, and the way in which trade unions and employers respond
to it. But it does reveal the base of support from which unions must begin
organizing attempts.
Is there a ‘representation gap’ in Britain?
There are currently around eight million employees working in workplaces
without a trade union presence. The 1998 British Social Attitudes Survey
allows us to gauge the extent to which these workers have a propensity to
unionize, and to analyse some of the factors associated with a propensity
to unionize. It asked a nationally representative sample of employees in
workplaces without a union the question, ‘How likely would you be to join a
union if one were available at your workplace?’ Respondents answered on
a four-point scale, from ‘very likely’ to ‘very unlikely’.
Table 1 shows the proportions of non-union employees who say that they
would join a union if one were available. Overall, 40 per cent of non-union
employees expressed a willingness to join a union. Manual employees are
more inclined towards unionization — 50 per cent would join — than non-
manuals, of whom 33 per cent express a willingness to join a union. The
level of support for unionization among non-union British employees is
very similar to the level of support for unionization among non-union US
employees and higher than that of Canadian non-union employees (Bryson
et al. 2002: 18). While it is possible that the appetite of British employees for
trade unionism has diminished, a significant number of employees appear to
retain a healthy appetite for the services that unions provide. Further
breakdowns by individual and workplace characteristics are provided in
Table 2.
TABLE 1
Support for Unionization among Non-union Employees in Great Britain (%)
If there were a trade union at your workplace,
how likely would you be to join?
All Manual Non-manual
Very likely to join 15 21 11
Fairly likely 25 29 22
Fairly unlikely 30 27 32
Very unlikely 30 23 35
Weighted n646 271 375
464 British Journal of Industrial Relations
#Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics 2002.
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