Welcome!
I hope you enjoyed Unit 1 exploring the idea of trade unions, what their purpose is and how they function. In this unit we will look at why people join unions; who joins unions; why do they leave; why do people NOT join unions – and does it matter? Effectively we are examining union density – but what is union density?
Eurofound defines it as follows:
Union density or trade union density is the ratio of wage and salary earners that are trade union members to the total number of wage and salary earners in the economy. It is accordingly a standard measure to compare the associational power of trade unions across countries. As with calculating union membership figures, calculating union density is complicated by issues such as the variety of sources (e.g. official administrative data, data provided by individual unions, survey data), as well as the lack of reliable data for some countries.
You will see that even in Ireland there are disputes regarding the calculation of exact figures, but we can at least examine trends. Chapter 3 of your text book provides an overview of trade union density in the 20th century in Ireland. We saw growth and consolidation in the early years; waning from the 1920s; growth from the 1930s until after WW2; resurgence to a peak of in excess of 60% density by the 1980s and some significant decline from then to the end of that century.
What has happened since? Take a look here at the CSO figures for union membership for the past 15 years. Union density 2005-2020
What is happening here? Why do you think this is? What determines union density? Did you note how CSO calculates the figures? How else could they be calculated? What might the future hold? Post-Covid?
Speaking of future trends, Here’s an interesting piece by Dr. Michelle O’Sullivan for the Brainstorm programme on RTE entitled “Can trade unions play a new role in modern society?”
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0319/1037306-can-trade-unions-play-a-new-role-in-modern-society/
How would you answer that question?
There is some interesting research from the UK regarding why people join unions and why they join at various times.
Waddington and Whitston (1997) Why do people join trade unions
J Waddington (2006)Why Do Members Leave
Central Statistics Office (2021) Labour Force Survey, https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/labourmarket/labourforcesurveylfstimeseries/ last accessed 10th January 2021
O’Sullivan, M. (2019) Can trade unions play a new role in modern society? Brainstorm/RTE, https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0319/1037306-can-trade-unions-play-a-new-role-in-modern-society/ last accessed 17th January 2021
Waddington, J., and Whitston, C., (1997) Why do people join unions in a period of membership decline? British Journal of Industrial Relations, 35(4)
Waddington, J., (2006) Why do members leave? The importance of retention to trade union growth, Labor Studies Journal, 31(3)
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