First-Timers and Late-Bloomers: Youth—Adult Unionization Differences in a Cohort of the U.S. Labor Force

Abstract

The authors analyze youth-adult unionization differences by using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) to follow a single group of individuals from age 15/16 to 40/41. They find that the differences between youth and adults are greatest at ages 15 to 17 and largely disappear by age 23. Though currently unionized workers are most likely to be in their forties or fifties, the authors find that younger workers have a greater opportunity or are more inclined to be unionized than adults and that many individuals report having had a unionized job by the age of 25. The authors also find that whereas the stock of unionized workers is largest at middle age, the flow of workers into unionized jobs is greatest between the ages of 16 and 25. Unionization patterns for adult workers are believed to differ significantly from those for younger workers. Bryson et al. (2005), for example, motivate their study of youth-adult differences in unionization by showing that unionization rates for workers aged 25-65 are three times higher than for those aged 15-24 in the United States and Canada, and two times higher in Britain. A similar pattern is evident in New Zealand and other countries (Haynes, Vowles, and Boxali 2005). Consequently, a number of studies specifically examine younger workers' attitudes towards unions (e.g.,

Organising young workers in the Public and Commercial Services union

“…These links are useful to the union, as PCS considers such organisations as appealing to young people and providing opportunities for social activities, and the initiatives are seen as a way of potentially increasing activism and/or membership. This is consistent with existing research which has shown that ‘new members who participate in formal and informal socialization activities will exhibit greater levels of union commitment’ (Booth et al ., : 56).…”

Renewed Activism for the Labor Movement: The Urgency of Young Worker Engagement

“…The active participation of young workers is thus an essential element in the revitalization not only of collective representation but for workplace democracy and civic engagement more broadly as well. Although some research has shown that young people are opting out of participation in the labor movement (Booth, Budd, & Munday, 2010;Budd, 2010;Waddington & Kerr, 2002), others have highlighted the emergence of millennial-based movements, such as Occupy and the ''Dreamers'' (Milkman, 2014b).…”

Union membership among young graduate workers in Australia: using the experience good model to explain the role of student employment

“…Yet data from the US suggests that it is during the student phase of the life cycle that many, if not most, graduate workers will first experience working in a unionised workplace. While union membership levels may be highest among workers in their 40s, workers are more likely to experience unionisation for the first time in their teens or 20s (Budd, 2010, Booth et al . 2010).…”

“…This is consistent with previous findings that the likelihood of joining a union is highest during the first job (Elias, 1996; Visser, 2002), but unlike the previous studies takes into account part‐time employment during the student phase. Booth et al . (2010) identified two peaks in first unionisation experiences that broadly coincided with the typical age of graduation from high school and college.…”