Perception of Labor Unions: by Union Members and Their Potential Employers

This paper tests the hypothesis that there is a significant gap in perception between union members and their potential employers regarding the role of labor unions and the quality of work performed by union members. The test is based on a questionnaire survey of 1,094 union members of whom 323 returned the questionnaire, and 771 businesses of which 210 responded to the survey. All respondents were located in the Mobile (Alabama) metropolitan area. Our survey indicates that there is a significant gap inperception between the two groups regarding the skill and training levels, wages, and the quality of work done by union workers.