Union Organizing: Costs and Benefits

Abstract

This paper examines the costs and benefits to current union members in manufacturing of programs to organize the unorganized. The marginal cost of organizing an additional employee, in constant dollars, is estimated for a sample of unions between 1964 and 1977. The primary benefit of organizing that is quantifiable is the extent to which the maintenance or extension of union coverage permits the maintenance of or increase in the union wage. Estimates of this benefit are derived from previous econometric research linking the union wage to the percentage of the industry organized. This single benefit is found to be larger than the estimated marginal cost of extending union coverage in 19 of 20 manufacturing industries.

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