The Effect of Union Density on the Wage Gap in Manufacturing: 1949-1997.

Union density has been steadily declining since the end of the 1940s, yet the economy has been steadily increasing. The current study assesses the effects of union density on the wage gap of production employees to non-production employees in manufacturing. The results suggest that a decline in union density has led to a widening of the wage gap. The results are consistent across a number of models including political, economic, and industry growth controls for both data. The results support the theory that non-production employees have captured more financial advantages from the fall of unionization largely among non-production employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]