Bargaining Power, Strike Duration, and Wage Outcomes: an Analysis of Strikes in the 1880s
68 Pages Posted: 28 Dec 2006 Last revised: 20 Feb 2022
Date Written: May 1992
Abstract
We study strike durations and outcomes for some 2000 disputes that occurred between 1881 and 1886. Most post-strike bargaining settlements in the 1880s fell into one of two categories: either a union "victory", characterized by a significant wage gain or hours cut, or a union "defeat", characterized by the resumption of work at the previous terms of employment. We find a strong negative relation between strike duration and the value of the settlement to workers. reflecting the declining probability of a union victory among longer strikes. For the subset of strikes over wage increases we estimate a structural model that includes equations for the capitulation times of the two parties and a specification of the wage increase conditional on a union victory. This framework provides a simple index of employees' relative bargaining power. based on the relative time to a union capitulation. Employees' relative bargaining power was higher in disputes involving fewer workers and in union ordered strikes. but substantially lower after the Haymarket Square incident in Chicago in 1886.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Paper statistics
Recommended Papers
-
By Alan B. Krueger and Alexandre Mas
-
By Alan B. Krueger and Alexandre Mas
-
Unions and Innovation: A Survey of the Theory and Empirical Evidence
-
How Industrial Relations Affects Plant Performance: The Case of Commercial Aircraft Manufacturing
By Morris M. Kleiner, Jonathan S. Leonard, ...