Declining Unions and the Coverage Wage Gap: Can German Unions Still Cut It?

Addison, J.; Teixeira, P.; Stephani, J.; Bellmann, L.

Abstract

That German trade unionism is in profound decline seems to be beyond dispute. More controversial is the implied change in union impact on worker wages. A linked employer-employee dataset is deployed over an interval of continuing decline in unionism to address this issue. Over the sample period 2000–2010 it is found that joining a sectoral agreement always produces higher wages, while exiting one no longer leads to wage losses if the transition is to a firm agreement. Leaving a firm agreement to non-coverage also leads to wage reductions, while joining one from non-coverage appears decreasingly favorable. The one constant is the persistence of a small positive union wage gap.

Citation

Addison, J., Teixeira, P., Stephani, J., & Bellmann, L. (2015). Declining Unions and the Coverage Wage Gap: Can German Unions Still Cut It?. Journal of Labor Research, 36(3), 301-317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12122-015-9209-9

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 11, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Apr 12, 2015
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Apr 22, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 12, 2016
• Journal: Journal of Labor Research
• Print ISSN: 0195-3613
• Electronic ISSN: 1936-4768
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 301-317
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12122-015-9209-9
• Keywords: Firm-level agreements, Sectoral collective bargaining, Bargaining transitions, Wages, Germany, J31, J51, J53.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1440085