When Do U.S. Workers First Experience Unionization?

What is it about?

This article uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 1979 to determine how many younger workers hold a unionized job, and if, at what age do they have their first union job. The results show that the average age when workers begin their very first unionized job is 23 years old. Among those who had been represented by a union by the time they were around 40 years old, more than 85 percent were first represented before they were 30 years old. By age 25, nearly 50 percent of the entire sample had held at least one unionized job, and by age 40, nearly 65 percent was unionized in at least one of their jobs, and ex-unionized workers outnumbered currently-represented workers by three to one.

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Why is it important?

This is important because workers are most likely to be unionized when they are in their forties. Union leaders who want to be responsive to the majority of their rank and file members consequently negotiate seniority rights, seniority-based wage schedules, and health and retirement benefits that benefit middle-aged and older workers more than younger workers. But this article shows that surprising numbers of individuals first encounter unionization in their jobs at a much younger age. Since direct experiences that workers have with unions presumably shape their lasting attitudes towards unions, unions run the risk of alienating a larger number of workers than previously expected. Taking seriously the role of younger workers in union revitalization efforts requires recognizing when workers are first unionized and how these early experiences affect later attitudes toward labor unions.

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