What Professionals Want: Union and Employer Tactics in Representation Elections of Professional Workers

Abstract

Using matched data from an original survey administered to organizers throughout the United States and election reports from the National Labor Relations Board, the author analyzes organizing campaigns of professional and non-professional workers. Professional workers have long been thought of as difficult to organize, yet they are strategically important to unions given their growing numbers in today’s economy. The author assesses whether unions and employers use different approaches in their organizing drives for professionals. An interactive model is used to test whether professionals’ distinct identity moderates the effect of common determinants of a representation election on the election outcome. The results show the benefit of an interactive model, as it highlights the importance of developing a campaign strategy unique to the group being organized.