General Overview
     According to information recently released by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004 was not a good year for union membership-organizing efforts. The percentage of U.S. workers belonging to a union decreased from 12.9 percent in 2003 to 12.5 percent in 2004. Membership has steadily declined from a high of over 37 percent in 1960 (see Figure 1). The decline has been continuous despite the fact that in recent years AFL-CIO unions have been spending more than $40 million a year on worker-organizing activities. The decline has been the subject of numerous scholarly studies analyzing the causes and offering possible solutions. None of the published research has identified a single cause, but most writers agree that the reasons can be grouped into the following five categories: (1) increased individualism of workers and their attitude toward unions, (2) legal support for unions and existence of right-to-work laws, (3) macroeconomic factors, (4) employer opposition initiatives, and (5) union officials’ opposition to representation elections (Atleson, 1994; Jarley and Kuruvilla, 1994; Karier, 1991; Leap, 1990; Margalioth, 1998; Saporta and Lincoln, 1995). However, in a 2004 nationwide Zogby poll, 63 percent of the respondents answered that, in general, they approve of labor unions.
     Some researchers have argued that right-to-work laws actually have little impact on the percentage of workers joining unions. Others argue that the existence of such laws is really a reflection of local attitudes toward unions. They believe that the attitude of local workers affects their decision to join a union. A comprehensive study analyzing many articles on the topic concluded that the impact of right-to-work laws remains significant, but of a smaller magnitude than previously thought (Davis and Huston, 1993).
     The Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act), enacted by Congress in 1935, granted workers a federally protected right to form and join labor unions. This process is usually accomplished by having employees vote in an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If a union receives the majority of the votes cast, it earns the right to represent the interest of workers in an NLRB- certified bargaining unit as their exclusive bargaining agent in subsequent negotiations with the company to form a collective bargaining contract. Sections 8(a)(3) and (b)(2) of the act authorize the union and company to include in the contract a union security clause requiring employees to maintain dues-paying membership in the union as a condition of continued employment. Today, in right-to-work states more than 80 percent of all labor agreements have some form of union security clause, usually an agency or union shop agreement (Sloan and Whitney, 2001; Budd, 2005).          In 1947, Congress amended the Wagner Act by enacting the Taft-Hartley Act. Section 14(b) of the new law provides:
“Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the execution or application of agreements requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment in any State or Territory in which such execution or application is prohibited by State or Territorial law.”      With the passage of Section 14(b), states were given the power to enact state right-to-work laws that prohibited both union and/or agency shop provisions---security clauses---in union contracts. From that point on, the battle for union members shifted to the state legislatures (Budd, 2005).
     By the end of 1947, 12 states had adopted some form of right-to-work laws. Over the next 20 years, about half of the states passed similar laws. Some states adopted new legislation, and eight states revised their state constitutions to prohibit security-clause provisions in union contracts. This effectively bans the requirement of union membership as a condition of employment (Bennett-Alexander and Pincus, 1998). Many of the states even make it a criminal act to violate any part of the right-to-work law. The right-to-work law in Tennessee, enacted in 1947, contains language that is typical of such laws. It provides that, “It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or association of any kind to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person by reason of such person’s membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization of any kind” (Tennessee Code Annotated 50-1-201). The statute later provides that any person, corporation, or association that violates the law is guilty of a misdemeanor.
     As more states passed such laws, the percentage of workers belonging to unions began to decline. The existence of such state laws continues to be a hotly contested state-level political issue for unions and chapters of the conservative National Right to Work Committee. One state, Indiana, adopted a right-to-work law in 1951 and then repealed it in 1965. Currently six states, including Montana, and New Hampshire, are actively considering passage of right-to-work laws, and legislation has been introduced to repeal the state right-to-work law in Idaho. As of today, 22 states have right-to-work laws (see Figure 2).
     If a union wins bargaining-agent certification in an election in a state with a right-to-work law, the employees will have a legal right not to join the union. At this point, the employees’ attitude toward unions will become paramount (Atleson, 1994).
     The impact on union percentage membership can be observed by examining Figure 2. Of the 22 states with right-to-work laws, only two (Iowa and Nevada) have double-digit union membership percentages. The remaining 20 have single-digit percentages. One state, North Carolina, has only 3.1 percent membership, and Tennessee has 7.5 percent membership. Of the 28 states that do not have state right-to-work laws, only four (Colorado, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Vermont) have union membership percentages in single digits. The remaining 24 states and the District of Columbia all have double-digit percentages, with one (New York) having 24.6 percent membership. These numbers clearly indicate that the presence of a state right-to-work law has some impact on the percentage of workers belonging to unions. However, it should be noted that there are many other factors that influence union membership.
     Many studies conducted over the past 30 years have found that the strongest factor in accurately determining how employees will vote in a union certification election is workers’ attitude toward unions (Cotton and McKenna, 1994; Jarley and Kuruvilla, 1994; Kelloway and Newton, 1996; Margolioth, 1998; McClendon, Wheeler, and Weikle, 1998). Jarley and Kuruvilla (1994) present evidence from several studies that “public opinion can enhance or impede union political activity, influence member loyalty, and affect how employers deal with unions.” They then conclude that the public’s attitude toward unions is a primary force influencing a union’s ability to win representation elections.

     The purposes of this study were to determine (a) the public’s impression of labor unions in a right-to- work state and (b) the relationship between job satisfaction and union support.
Procedure
     The data for this study were obtained through mail questionnaires sent to a random sample of 6,000 residents from telephone books of the seven metropolitan statistical areas in Tennessee: Memphis, Nashville, Clarksville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Jackson, and Tri-Cities (Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City). Appropriate numbers from each city were drawn according to the ratio of each city’s population to the total population of all seven urban areas. The return rate was 11.2 percent.
     A confidence level of 95 percent is commonly used by social scientists doing business research (Berenson and Levine, 1992). The size of the random sample taken and the number of useable responses received was sufficient to produce a confidence level of at least 95 percent in the result obtained on each question. Therefore, the estimate of workers’ attitudes made in the study should be approximately correct 95 percent of the time.
     The research instrument was mailed to these residents, and 669 usable questionnaires were received and used in this study. The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first concerned demographic characteristics of the respondents. Respondents were asked to select one of two categories regarding their age: under 45 or over 45. For sex, female was coded as 1 and male as 2. Race had three categories: white (1), black (2), and other minority (3). Total family income had the following categories: (1) $15,000 or less, (2) $15,001-45,000, and (3) $45,001 or more. Education was measured by the following choices: (1) no college degree and (2) college graduate or advanced degree. The second section of the questionnaire included 18 statements designed to assess the respondents’ general attitude toward union officials. These 18 questions were selected from questions included in various opinion polls conducted over the past 30 years. The third section of the questionnaire included statements concerning the current union membership status and job satisfaction of the respondents. Special acknowledgement is given to an instrument developed by the University of Michigan Survey Research Center (Quinn and Staines, 1978).
Demographic Variables
     Among the 669 participants, 142 were female and 468 male (missing data = 59). Regarding age, 366 (54%) were younger than 45; 299 (45%) were over 45; and 4 (1%) did not specify age. In terms of race, the majority were white (82%). Regarding total family income, 103 (15%) earned $15,000 or less; 429 (65%) earned $15,001-45,000; 108 (16%) earned $45,001 or more; and 29 (4%) did not specify family income. In terms of education, 357 (54%) had no college degree, 302 (45%) had a college or advanced degree, and 10 (1%) did not specify level of education. Participants in the study were mostly male, under 45, and white with less than a college degree and low to middle income. Thereby, participants in this sample do not match the population perfectly. However, there was no reason to believe that this sample was atypical.
Impression of Union Integrity
     The data obtained from the 669 respondents via the research instrument were analyzed by tabulating the frequency percentages for each item on the questionnaire. The percentages given in Table 1 illustrate the distribution of the responses to the 18 statements in the questionnaire about impressions the public has of labor unions.
     With regard to the public’s impression of the integrity of labor unions, 43.5 percent disagreed with statement 10 that labor unions are democratic. Only 29.1 percent agreed, and 23.9 percent were undecided. However, 49.2 percent disagreed with statement 12 that labor unions just make trouble, and 50.1 percent of the respondents disagreed with statement 15 that labor unions are violent. The percentage of the respondents who agreed with statement 15 was 23.9, and 23.3 percent were undecided. A rather large percentage, 53.1, disagreed with statement 14 that unions are corrupt. Only 19.1 percent agreed, and 25 percent were undecided. Opinions were somewhat mixed on statement 18 that labor unions are radical: 41.6 percent disagreed, 26 percent agreed, and 29.6 percent were undecided. The results indicate that the public’s impression of the integrity of labor unions is rather positive.
Benefits of Labor Members
     In response to statement 2 that labor unions keep people from getting pushed around, 46.9 percent agreed, and 32.6 percent disagreed. Furthermore, 45.6 percent agreed with statement 4 that labor unions help people who are in trouble. The percentage of the respondents who disagreed was 25.9 percent, and 27.2 percent were undecided.
     There was no significant difference with respect to statement 16 that labor unions are good for workers: 38.6 percent of the respondents agreed, 26 percent disagreed, and 32.7 percent were undecided. However, a recent Gallup poll, reported that 65 percent of the American people approve of labor unions and 28 percent do not (Federally Protected Rights Organizing link, 2003). The percentage of respondents who agreed that labor unions protect jobs (statement 17) was 46.3, while 27.2 percent disagreed, and 23.2 percent were undecided. Finally, 42.8 percent disagreed with statement 5 that labor unions help to keep management honest. Likewise, Halpern (2002) reported that 58 percent of the working public generally has a negative attitude toward union executive officers (Halpern, 2002). Another national study found that the American public’s attitude toward labor unions is paradoxical: a majority say that, in general, they approve of labor unions while, at the same time, the public’s confidence in union officials is lower than its regard for lawyers and only slightly higher than its regard for used-car salesmen (Denholm, 2004). The responses indicate that respondents believe labor unions are generally beneficial to labor members, but do not help to keep management honest.
Labor Unions Power
     In response to statement 1 that labor unions force people to join who do not want to join, 57.7 percent disagreed, and 30.6 percent agreed. The percentage that was undecided was only 9.6. Opinions of respondents were mixed in regard to statement 3 that labor unions hold back progress of business: the percentage of respondents who did not agree was 40.8 percent, while 39.3 percent agreed, and 17.5 percent were undecided. The respondents disagreed (55.6 percent) with statement 6 that labor unions are necessary in most companies, but Frankel (2004) reported that the labor market in Canada has undergone significant restructuring that might change the attitude there: “Secure, decent-paying jobs have been replaced by part-time jobs that pay much less and offer few, if any, benefits.” This study also pointed out that the people who fill these minimum-wage positions are often those with the least power in our society, such as students, youth, single parents, and new immigrants (Frankel, 2004). The respondents also disagreed (56.2 percent) with statement 13 that labor unions have too much power. These results indicate that, in general, the public’s impression of labor unions is that they do not have any more power than other business or professional organizations.
Overall Benefits of Labor Unions
     With regard to the public’s overall impression of the benefits of labor unions, 43.9 percent of the respondents agreed with statement 8 that most labor unions are worthwhile, 30.5 percent disagreed, and 23.9 percent were undecided. Likewise, Hart Research (1999) reported that “a majority (52 percent) of workers think that employees who have a union are better off than those who don’t” (Hart, 1993-1999).  Further, 52 percent agreed with statement 11 that labor unions are useless. In a study by Denholm (2004), it was reported that “a majority of the public approve of labor unions and there are significant levels of support for the view that unions are still needed” (Denholm, 2004). Most of the respondents disagreed (41 percent) with statement 9 that labor unions are benevolent; only 20.5 percent agreed, and 34.5 percent were undecided. Finally, 41.4 percent disagreed with statement 7 that most labor union dues and fees are too high. Only 16.9 percent agreed, and 39.6 percent were undecided. Furthermore, Lehman (2004) reported that a strong majority (63 percent) believe it is unfair to fire a worker who declines to pay dues to, or support, a union (Lehman, 2004).
The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Union Support
      The relationship between job satisfaction and support for union certification is an issue that has been the subject of many studies (Friedman, Abraham, and Thomas, 2006; and Rayton, 2006). Job satisfaction is often defined as a worker’s subjective assessment of the utility gained from his working environment (Bender and Sloane, 1998). One stream of industrial relations research that was popular in the 1980’s and 1990’s focused on the relationship between job satisfaction and a worker’s job satisfaction and a worker’s decision to support unionization. This research suggested that employees would be more likely to support the election of a union it they were dissatisfied with their job (Gordon and Denisi, 1995). In addition to examining the public’s overall impression of labor unions, the study re-examined this job satisfaction and union support relationship in a right-to-work state. In the third section of the questionnaire, when the respondents were asked how satisfied they were with their present job, 361 (56.9 percent) replied they were very satisfied, 214 (33.8 percent) replied they were somewhat satisfied, 48 (7.6 percent) replied they were not too satisfied, 11 (1.7) percent stated they were not at all satisfied, and 35 (5.5 percent) had no response. Table 2 describes demographic characteristics with regard to job satisfaction. Respondents were also asked to show their level of support for unionization by indicating whether or not they would vote for and join a union if a secret ballot election were held at their employer’s business. Table 3 compares the responses to these two questions in one display. The first and easiest lesson learned from a simple observation of Table 3 is that the clear majority of respondents indicated that they would not vote for nor join a union. However, a closer examination of individual demographic categories reveals that there are some groups, where job satisfaction is low, that might be willing to support unionization.
Age of Respondents and the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Union Support
     The sample of 669 was divided by age into two groups: respondents under the age of 46 and respondents 46 and older. Table 2 and 3 show the attitudes of these two groups with regard to job satisfaction and union support. More than 95 percent of the older respondents and 87.4 percent of the younger respondents expressed some degree of satisfaction with their job. Only 5.1 percent of the older and 12.6 percent of the younger respondents expressed some degree of dissatisfaction with their job. The younger group is only 7.5 percent (12.6-5.1) more dissatisfied with their job, but they are almost three times (9.4 to 26.7 percent) as likely to vote yes for a union.
Race of Respondents and the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Union Support
     As shown in Table 2, the 669 respondents were divided by race into two groups: white and nonwhite. These two groups differed in their overall job satisfaction: 87.5 percent of the white respondents and 71.2 percent of the nonwhites expressed some degree of satisfaction with their job. Such an overwhelming majority of white respondents expressing some degree of satisfaction with their job might indicate little need or support for labor unions. However, 28.8 percent of the nonwhite respondents expressed some degree of dissatisfaction with their job. This group indicated that they would be 4.5 (16.9 to 76.3) times more likely to vote for unionization than white employees.
Gender of Respondents and the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Union Support
     The sample was divided into males and females. Table 2 shows differences between these two groups with regard to attitude toward job satisfaction. A majority of respondents in both groups indicated some degree of satisfaction with their job (79.0 percent of females and 93.2 percent of males). More than 19 percent of the female respondents expressed some degree of dissatisfaction with their job. This high percentage of job satisfaction for males might indicate little support for labor unions. However, the fact that only 79 percent of the females expressed some degree of job satisfaction could indicate that females would show greater support for labor unions than male workers. Also, 19.2 percent of the females indicated that they had some level of dissatisfaction with their job. This would indicate that they are 2.8 times more dissatisfied than the male respondents and therefore that much more likely to vote for unionization.
Education of Respondents and the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Union Support
     The sample of 669 respondents was divided into two groups based on the respondents’ level of education, those with and those without college degrees. Mosca and Pressman (1995) pointed out that unions and union officials have long been interested in promoting general education, strongly supporting free public schools and vocational job training. The authors also pointed out that the educational process will become more important in the future because of the growing need for skilled workers as unskilled jobs continue to move to less developed countries (Mosca and Pressman, 1995). As shown in Table 2, a majority of the respondents from both educational groups expressed some degree of satisfaction with their job. More than 93 percent of the more educated group and 88.3 percent of the less educated group expressed some degree of satisfaction with their job. The fact that a high majority of both educational groups expressed some degree of satisfaction with their job might indicate that workers in both groups would not support unions. However, the lower education group had a job dissatisfaction level that is almost two times (6.8 to 11.7 percent) as high as the dissatisfaction level of the higher education group. Also the lower education group responded that they would be 3 times (46.7 to 15.5 percent) more likely to vote for unionization as the higher education group.
Income of Respondents and the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Union Support
     The sample was divided into three groups based on the level of annual household income: low ($15,000 or less), middle (between $15,001 and $45,000), and high ($45,001 or greater). As shown in Table 2, a majority of all income groups expressed some degree of satisfaction with their job (77.6 percent for the low, 91.5 percent for the middle, and 99 percent for the high income group). However, more than 22 percent of the low-income group expressed some degree of dissatisfaction with their job. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, full-time wage and salary workers in 2004 who were union members had median usual weekly earnings of $781, compared with a median of $612 for wage and salary workers who were not represented by unions. The report stated that “the difference reflects a variety of influences in addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, including variations in the distributions of union members and nonunion employees by occupation, industry, firm size, or geographic region.”
     A 1998 survey of Bureau of Labor Statistics studies found a consistent negative relationship between job satisfaction and union support (McClendon, 1998). With job satisfaction ranging from 77.6 percent to a high of 99.0 percent for all demographic categories, little support for unions could be expected from respondents. However, the dissatisfaction level of the low-income group is 22 time higher than the dissatisfaction level of the high income group. Also, 52.4 percent of the low-income group indicated that they would vote for and join a union.
     The number of workers who belong to a union has shown a slight increase recently, but that number as a percentage of the total workforce has been steadily declining for more than 40 years. Researchers have identified several factors believed to have contributed to this decline. One major factor has been the existence of state right-to-work laws. Tennessee was one of the first states to adopt such a law, shortly after federal labor laws were amended in 1947 to allow states to adopt individual state union membership laws. These laws continue in force today and are spreading to new states. Although the presence of these laws has some impact on the percentage of workers belonging to a union, there is strong evidence that the public’s attitude toward unions is a primary force influencing a union’s ability to win representation elections.
     A large majority of the public supports the principles embodied in right-to-work laws. They believe that, if a union is certified to represent a company’s workforce, all employees should not be required by law to join the union and that employees should not be required to pay agency fees.
     The results of this study have a number of implications. First, the overall impression of the public toward labor unions is rather positive. For example, with regard to the public’s impression of the integrity of labor unions, more than 40 percent of respondents expressed a favorable opinion of unions in statements 12, 14, 15, and 18. Many of the respondents did not believe that labor unions are very democratic. On the other hand, the public’s impression of labor unions’ power over workers and business growth seem to indicate that labor unions do not have any more power than any other business or professional organizations.
     With regard to the public’s impression of the benefits of labor unions, most of the respondents, as reflected in statements 8, 9, and 11, had a rather negative impression of the overall worth of labor unions. This impression is also reflected in a survey question in the third section of the questionnaire that asked the respondents how satisfied they were with their present job. An overwhelming majority expressed some degree of satisfaction with their job, which might indicate little need or support for labor unions. The analysis showed that, while a higher percentage of male workers currently belong to a union than their female counterparts, there is no significant difference between male and female overall attitudes toward unions. However, female respondents indicated a higher willingness to vote for unionization (40.0 vs. 28.6 percent) than male respondents. The study did reveal that nonwhites view unions two to three times more favorably than whites.
     This study indicates that a majority of the public believes that labor unions have integrity. While a large percentage of respondents believe that labor unions help people who are in trouble and that labor unions keep people from getting pushed around, the majority of the public believes that labor unions could be more useful. On whether labor unions are worthwhile, opinions are rather mixed.
     The responses show in Table 2 and 3 indicate that for some demographic groups there is a significantly greater relationship between job dissatisfaction with work and support for unionization than with job satisfaction. This causes the writers to recall the work of Frederick Herzberg and his focus on job “dissatisfiers” (Sloane, 2001). If an employee’s objective is to reduce the employee’s willingness to support union organizing efforts the employer should not only try to increase opportunities for employees to increase job satisfaction, but also try to reduce factors that might contribute to job dissatisfaction.

How satisfied are you with your present job?

Age

Younger	175	(48.1)*	143	(39.3)	37	(10.2)	9	(2.4)
Older	186	(68.9)	71	(26.3)	11	(4.1)	2	(1.0)

 

Race

White	311	(56.3)	172	(31.2)	35	(6.3)	4	(1.0)
Nonwhite	21	(35.6)	21	(35.6)	11	(18.6)	6	(10.2)

 

Gender

Female	55	(40.7)	52	(38.5)	20	(14.8)	6	(4.4)
Male	274	(61.4)	142	(31.8)	26	(5.8)	4	(1.0)

 

Education

Lower	198	(58.1)	103	(30.2)	31	(9.1)	9	(2.6)
Higher	162	(55.7)	110	(37.8)	17	(5.8)	2	(1.0)

 

Income

Low	35	(37.2)	38	(40.4)	16	(17.0)	5	(5.3)
Middle	238	(56.3)	149	(35.2)	30	(7.1)	6	(1.4)
High	79	(75.2)	25	(23.8)	1	(1.0)	0	(0.0)

			Vote for and join a union
	Satisfied	Not Satisfied	Undecided	Yes	No

Age

Younger	318	(87.4)*	46	(12.6)	44	(12.4	95	(26.7)            217 (61.0)
Older	257	(95.2)	13	(5.1)	94	(31.6	28	(9.4)             175 (58.9)

 

Race

White	483	(87.5	39	(7.3)	61	(11.3)	131	(24.2)           349 (64.5)
Nonwhite	42	(71.2	17	(28.8)	4	(6.8)	45	(76.3)             10 (16.9)

 

Gender

Female	107	(79.2)	26	(19.2)	22	(15.9)	51	(40.0)              65 (47.1)
Male	416	(93.2)	30	(6.8)	44	(9.5)	132	(28.6)            285 (61.8)

 

Education

Lower	301	(88.3)	40	(11.7)	40	(11.4)	164	(46.7)             147 (41.2)
Higher	272	(93.57)	19	(6.8)	31	(10.5))	46	(15.5)             219 (74.0)

 

Income

Low	73	(77.6)	21	(22.3)	14	13.6)	54	(52.4)             35 (34.0)
Middle	387	91.5)	36	(8.5)	126	(29.9)	44	(10.5)           251 (59.6)
High	25	(23.6)	40	(37.7)	11	(10.3)	7	(6.5)              80 (83.2)

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*Parentheses indicate row percentages