Hospital Employees' Wages and Labor Union Organization

摘要

The research analyzed the joint determination of hospital employees' wages and labor union organization. Two data sources were used: hospital data from a survey of 1,200 U.S. hospitals conducted in 1977; and individual data from the 1977 and 1978 Current Population Surveys. Evidence was also presented concerning the spread of hospital unionization following the 1974 amendments to the National Labor Relations Act and the distribution of unionization across different types of hospitals in 1977. Data from the hospital survey indicated that unions raise wages by 3.40 percent for RNs, 5.61 percent for LPNs, 7.43 percent for office clerical workers, and 7.85 percent for service and maintenance employees. For all four occupations studied, the probability of a collective bargaining contract increased significantly as the potential wage gain from unionization increased. In the CPS survey, unions raised health aides' wages by 14.2 percent and technical workers' wages by 16.3 percent; the gains for nurses were negative.