OCCUPATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF PROFESSIONAL UNION MEMBERSHIP

Empirical studies of union membership usually group all professionals together in one occupational category. This study uses a simultaneous equations approach to analyze the union or collective bargaining assoc iation membership status of a sample of 9,417 employed Canadian profes sionals and managers from 16 different occupational groups. The result s support the hypothesis that there are significant differences among professions in the probability of their members being in unions or col lective bargaining associations. The relative differences are explicab le in terms of the characteristics of the professions concerned.