TY - JOUR

T1 - Uncovered workers in plants covered by collective bargaining: Who are they and how do they fare?

AU - Hirsch, Boris

AU - Lentge, Philipp

AU - Schnabel, Claus

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. British Journal of Industrial Relations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2022/12/1

Y1 - 2022/12/1

N2 - In Germany, employers used to pay union members and non-members in a plant the same union wage in order to prevent workers from joining unions. Using recent administrative data, we investigate which workers in firms covered by collective bargaining agreements still individually benefit from these union agreements, which workers are not covered anymore and what this means for their wages. We show that about 9 per cent of workers in plants with collective agreements do not enjoy individual coverage (and thus the union wage) anymore. Econometric analyses with unconditional quantile regressions and firm-fixed-effects estimations demonstrate that not being individually covered by a collective agreement has serious wage implications for most workers. Low-wage non-union workers and those at low hierarchy levels particularly suffer since employers abstain from extending union wages to them in order to pay lower wages. This jeopardizes unions’ goal of protecting all disadvantaged workers.

AB - In Germany, employers used to pay union members and non-members in a plant the same union wage in order to prevent workers from joining unions. Using recent administrative data, we investigate which workers in firms covered by collective bargaining agreements still individually benefit from these union agreements, which workers are not covered anymore and what this means for their wages. We show that about 9 per cent of workers in plants with collective agreements do not enjoy individual coverage (and thus the union wage) anymore. Econometric analyses with unconditional quantile regressions and firm-fixed-effects estimations demonstrate that not being individually covered by a collective agreement has serious wage implications for most workers. Low-wage non-union workers and those at low hierarchy levels particularly suffer since employers abstain from extending union wages to them in order to pay lower wages. This jeopardizes unions’ goal of protecting all disadvantaged workers.

KW - Economics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85129302405&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/17e87216-1f72-322e-9f43-4c92e0b45226/

U2 - 10.1111/bjir.12679

DO - 10.1111/bjir.12679

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 60

SP - 929

EP - 945

JO - British Journal of Industrial Relations

JF - British Journal of Industrial Relations

SN - 0007-1080

IS - 4

ER -