The Effect of Trade Unionism on Fringe Benefits

38 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2001 Last revised: 26 Oct 2022

See all articles by Richard B. Freeman

Richard B. Freeman

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); University of Edinburgh - School of Social and Political Studies; Harvard University; London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP)

Date Written: October 1978

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of unionism on the fringes paid blue-collar workers using data on individual establishments. The main substantive finding is that trade unionism raises the fringe share of compensation, particularly pension and life, accident and health insurance. The magnitude of the effect is sufficiently large as to suggest that estimates which neglect fringes understate the union effect on compensation. The paper uses the data on the compensation of blue-collar and white-collar workers within an establishment to control for within-establishment pay policies and estimate the potential effect of blue-collar unionism on the fringes of white-collar workers.

Suggested Citation

Freeman, Richard B., The Effect of Trade Unionism on Fringe Benefits (October 1978). NBER Working Paper No. w0292, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=260480

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