PUBLIC SECTOR-PRIVATE SECTOR DIFFERENCES IN REASONS UNDERLYING EXPRESSED UNION PREFERENCES
DUANE E. LEIGH AND STEPHEN M. HILLS
DOI: 10.2190/WB2M-P2AA-X5YF-8YD9
Abstract
Recent waves of the young men and young women samples of the National Longitudinal Surveys provide information not only on how respondents would vote in a hypothetical union representation election, but also on the primary reason for their vote. This article uses the primary reason information to examine whether differences exist between public sector and private sector workers in the reasons underlying expressed voting preferences. Our major finding is that the relatively large demand of public employee for union representation reflects a relatively strong preference for collective action. Our interpretation of this finding is that public employees recognize the economic payoff to collective behavior in the political arena.
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