The Effect of Faculty Unions on Salaries: Some Recent Evidence

Javed Ashraf
Michael F. Williams


DOI: 10.2190/CN.32.2.e

Abstract

This article updates an earlier study presented by one of the authors [1]. That study computed union-induced compensation gains using the 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty. The present work uses data from the 1998-99 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty and specifies a semilogarithmic earnings equation whose coefficients estimate the relative importance of certain faculty characteristics upon faculty compensation. The results, which indicate negligible differences in earnings between union and nonunion campuses, are compared to, and contrasted with, those of earlier studies. It is argued that the absence of a significant union wage premium could well signal a change in collective bargaining strategy, as unions may now be seeking more non-pecuniary benefits for their members.

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