Like worker, like union? Labor market risk exposure, white-collar predominance and trade unions' policy advocacy

Bibliographic Data

ID4237667
AuthorsAxel Cronert (0000-0001-8405-795X, Uppsala University, corresponding author), Richard Forsén (Uppsala University)
Year2023
Volume21
Issue1
Pages367-395
Publication date2023-03-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocio-Economic Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1475-1461 • E-ISSN: 1475-147X
DOI10.1093/ser/mwab060
OpenAlexW4205327674
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited34

This study seeks to advance the scholarship on trade union heterogeneity. Expanding on previous research, we develop a theoretical framework that distinguishes unions along two dimensions-members' labor market risk exposure and the predominance of white-collar workers-that help shape their labor market policy preferences and advocacy. The framework is then assessed in a within-country mixed-methods analysis. We first document how members in 35 Swedish unions map onto the two dimensions, using fine-grained survey data, and then qualitatively analyze the advocacy of seven unions with different membership characteristics. Our results confirm the relevance of isolating the two dimensions in analyses of both membership preferences and elite advocacy. These findings contrast with existing accounts of the contemporary Swedish union movement and carry implications for many other countries with fragmented union landscapes. They particularly demonstrate the importance of disaggregating union membership in micro- and macro-level research involving unions and their power resources

Collar · Demographic economics · Economics · Elite · Labour economics · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Relevance (law · Scholarship · Trade union · White (mutation · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor Movements and Unions · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Law

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Open DOIOpen Access