Coal Mine Safety: Do Unions Make a Difference?
Posted: 2 Feb 2013 Last revised: 10 Mar 2013
There are 2 versions of this paper
Coal Mine Safety: Do Unions Make a Difference?
Date Written: January 1, 2013
Abstract
Although the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) has always advocated strongly for miners safety, prior empirical literature contains no evidence that unionization reduced mine injuries or fatalities during the 1970s and ë80s. This study uses a more comprehensive dataset and updated methodology to examine the relationship between unionization and underground, bituminous coal mine safety from 1993 to 2010. I find that unionization predicts a substantial and significant decline in traumatic injuries and fatalities, the two measures that I argue are the least prone to reporting bias. These disparities are especially pronounced among larger mines. My best estimates imply that overall, unionization is associated with a 13-30% drop in traumatic injuries and a 28-83% drop in fatalities. Yet unionization also predicts higher total and nontraumatic injuries, suggesting that injury reporting practices differ between union and nonunion mines.
Keywords: safety, mining, mine, mines, MSHA, union, unions, Mine Safety and Health Administration, UMWA, United Mine Workers, injury, injuries, underreporting, reporting bias
JEL Classification: J28, J51
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation