Union Joining and Leaving: An event history analysis

By Donna M. Buttigieg, Stephen J. Deery and Roderick D. Iverson

Examines parallel models of union joining and leaving using individual level longitudinal panel data of 3594 employees over a five year period.

In terms of practical implications for unions, the study suggests that unions are in a double bind in terms of their strategies to recruit and retain members. Whilst the creation of injustice frames are necessary to attract members to join the union, these need to be combined with structures (ie union representatives) to direct members to attribute these injustices to management and also to politicize members into perceiving collectives (ie unions) as the primary means for addressing these injustices (Kelly, 1999; Darlington, 2002). Without these structures, unions that highlight injustices to members create the situation of a 'leaky bucket'. That is, they are able to recruit new members on the promise of change to conditions but they simultaneously lose existing members that are disillusioned with the capacity of the union to instigate that change.

(Study conducted in the banking industry)

(21st Century Work - High Road or Low Road?: Proceedings of the 20th AIRAANZ Conference, Volume 1 First published February 2006 By the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) page 103