Unionized workers becoming more satisfied than non-union

For decades, labor unions maintained a curious quirk: Union workers enjoyed less job satisfaction than their non-union counterparts. This was not a selling point.

“Unions are there to make the lives of their members better, so you would think that would make members happier with their jobs,” said Alex Bryson, an applied labor economist at University College London. But no. “Up until the early 2000s, whichever way you cut it, there was this association between being unionized and being less satisfied with your job.”

This paradox was consistent, across countries and industries — so standard that economists called it an “empirical regularity.”

A seminal book on the topic, “What Do Unions Do,” by Harvard economists Richard Freeman and James Medoff, posited many reasons why unions might house less happy workers. Perhaps people with job problems are more likely to join; perhaps the process of union bargaining makes for adversarial employer relationships; maybe unions reduce quitting — and therefore maintain dissatisfied employees; perhaps union members are just more used to sounding off in general, or more attuned to workplace well-being.

Now all that’s changed. The paradox has disappeared. Union workers now do what you’d expect: feel more satisfied at work than non-union members.

For people who study such things, this is a solar eclipse. Bryson said: “I remember the moment my colleague, Danny Blanchflower at Dartmouth College, rang. He said, ‘That union job dissatisfaction thing, it’s turned around.’ I said, ‘I don’t believe you.’ ”

Blanchflower was right. In the U.S., the U.K., Europe and elsewhere, union members, particularly younger union members, are now happier, even after controlling for some of the scenarios listed above. It’s unclear why, but it’s happening. Bryson and Blanchflower published their findings in a new working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, which also finds that union memberships are on an upswing over the last two to three years.

What does this mean for you? Well, snagging a union job is now a rather positive proposition. Some details to consider:

Union membership is a boon when considering the alternatives of facing wage inequality, discrimination, bullying and arbitrary employer behavior. Unions continue to be the most effective antidote for individuals.

Prepare to feel better. “Supportive unions provide an unexpected psychological benefit,” said Teresa Cardador, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois. “There’s this positive association between perceiving your union as supportive and feeling that your work is meaningful.”

Union decisions might not align perfectly with your individual preferences. This matter arose frequently during the pandemic, when groups like teachers disagreed with union agreements for returns to work.

Almost all the growth of represented workers in recent decades has been in government employment, with the Service Employees International Union organizing workers at the state and local levels.