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Why Do Members Leave? The Importance of Retention to Trade Union Growth

Bibliographic Data

ID11229823
AuthorsJeremy Waddington (Labor Education by the West Virginia University Press, P.O. Box 6295, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume31
Issue3
Pages15-38
Publication date2006-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLabor Studies Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0160-449X • E-ISSN: 1538-9758
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0160449x0603100302
OpenAlexW2157901447
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited22

Drawing on survey results from three British trade unions, this paper examines why members leave trade unions. In this study, as anticipated, a great many members left their unions because of some change to their employment circumstances (they were made redundant, they changed employers, or they retired). A significant proportion left because they were dissatisfied with some aspect of union organization. The paper also demonstrates that the proportion of members leaving because of dissatisfaction varied according to a range of factors, including union "type" and sector of organization. The research implies that if unions are to reverse membership decline and promote retention, they must address a range of issues in addition to introducing new means of organizing and recruitment

Business · Demographic economics · Economics · International trade · Labour economics · Political science · Trade union · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor Movements and Unions · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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Unique citing works8
Citations per year0,53
Citation span2011 - 2025 (15)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 7
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