UNION EFFECTS ON MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES - A LONGITUDINAL APPROACH

This article examines municipal union employment and wage effects in a sample of police, fire, sanitation, streets and highways, and finance and control departments from approximately 900 U.S. cities during 197 7-80. Cross-section results for 1980 suggest positive union contract e ffects on fire fighter and sanitation employment and wages, consistent with demand shifts due to union political influence in municipal barg aining. I then model potential omitted variables as nonstationary fixe d effects and apply longitudinal models to estimation of employment an d wage changes between 1977 and 1980. The longitudinal results provide little support for the demand shift hypothesis.