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Most of the literature on strikes has addressed one of four issues: causation, variation between sectors and countries, trends over time and the relationship between strikes and other forms of collective and individual protest. Very little research has addressed the equally important questions of strike outcomes and trade union membership despite the substantial body of research on the causes of trade union membership decline and strategies for membership growth. In this paper we reverse the usual sequence of trade union membership as a causal factor in the genesis of strikes and examine the impact of strikes on trade union membership levels. After setting out the relevant theory and hypotheses, we use a unique seven-year dataset of trade union membership joiners and leavers from a major British trade union with a substantial record of strike activity. Controlling for other possible determinants of trade union membership, we find that months in which there is strike action, whether national or local, are associated with a significantly higher rate of membership growth, measured both by the number of joiners and by the ratio of joiners to leavers. Data from new union members suggest that perceived injustice and perceived union effectiveness both motivate the decision to join. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can a union be both democratic and administratively efficient, or are these goals always at odds? Building on the Webbs' focus on this critical question, this article analyses and compares the changing administrative policies and practices of US, UK and Australian trade unions over a 25‐year period. We conducted surveys of unions in all three countries to gather information on union policies and practices involving the unions' human resources, hiring, budgeting and strategic planning. Using these novel longitudinal data, we contribute to industrial relations scholarship by showing that unions have increasingly adopted formal, systematic practices in these areas. The article is grounded in theory and also has practical relevance given the important implications that our findings may have for the revitalization of unions in the three countries and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the financial resources of trade unions in the UK. The core argument is that trade unions are subject to 'cost disease' pressures such that costs rise over the long term above the general level of inflation. They have this property because of the difficulty in solving first‐ and second‐order collective action problems. First‐order problems refer to the problems of initiating collective action and second‐order problems refer to the management of collective action organizations. Both UK aggregate and case‐study data — from one of the largest UK unions, Unite — are presented to illustrate the cost disease problem and to suggest options for its management. In conclusion, the wider implications of 'cost disease' pressures for unions are assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial literature argues that the reported job dissatisfaction of union members is spurious. It reflects either the sorting of dissatisfied workers into union membership or the sorting of union recognition into worse jobs. We contribute by presenting the first panel data estimates that hold constant first worker fixed effects and then worker in job fixed effects. The estimates demonstrate that covered union members typically report greater dissatisfaction even when accounting for sorting in both dimensions. At the same time, cross-sectional evidence of less satisfied covered non-members and uncovered members vanishes when accounting for sorting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]