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Labor Markets and Labor Unions

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© 2003 South-Western/Thomson Learning

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Labor Supply

As a resource supplier, a person has a labor supply curve for each of the many possible uses of their labor

To some markets, the quantity supplied is zero over the realistic range of wagesAn individual’s labor supply to each market depends, among other things, on their ability, their taste for the job in question, and the opportunity cost of their time, assuming wages in other markets remain constant

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Labor Supply and Utility Maximization

Individuals attempt to use their scarce resources so as to maximize their utility

Two sources of utility are of special interest to us here

The consumption of goods and servicesThe enjoyment of leisure

The utility derived from consuming goods and services is obvious and serves as the basis for consumer demand

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Labor Supply and Utility Maximization

Another valuable source of utility is leisure

Leisure is a normal good that, like other goods, is subject to the law of diminishing marginal utility

Therefore, the more leisure time a person has, the less they value an additional unit of it

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Three Uses of Time

Individuals can use their time in three ways

They can undertake market work selling your time in the labor market in return for incomeThey can undertake nonmarket work using their time to produce their own goods and servicesThey can spend time as leisure all nonwork uses of their time

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Work and Utility

Work is not a pure source of utility, rather it is a source of disutility the opposite of utility

Work is also subject to increasing marginal disutility the more a person works, the greater the marginal disutility of working another hour

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Work and Utility

Net utility of work -- the utility of consumption made possible through work minus the disutility of the work itself – usually makes some amount of work an attractive use of some of an individual’s time

In the case of market work, the individual’s income buys goods and services

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Utility MaximizationWithin the limits of a 24-hour day, seven days a week, individuals can balance their time among market work, nonmarket work, and leisure to maximize utility

The rational consumer will attempt to maximize utility by allocating their time so that the expected utility of the last unit of time spent in each activity is identical MUMW = MUL = MUNMW

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ImplicationsFirst, consider the choice among market work, nonmarket work, and leisure

The higher your market wage, other things constant, the higher your opportunity cost of leisure and nonmarket work

Among those earning the same market wage, people who are handy around the house will do more work for themselvesThe higher the expected earnings right out of high school, other things constant, the higher the opportunity cost of attending college

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Wages and Individual Labor Supply

To explain why an individual will initially increase the quantity of labor supplied and then eventually reduce the quantity of labor supplied, we need to consider the impact of wage increases on the allocation of timeAn increase in the wage affects an individual’s choice between market work and other uses of time in two ways

Substitution EffectIncome Effect

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Substitution Effect

A higher wage provides an individual with an incentive to work more, since each hour of work now buys more goods and services

As the wage increases, you substitute market work for other activities substitution effect of a wage increase

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Income EffectA higher wage also means a higher income for the same number of hours the demand for all normal goods increasesSince leisure is a normal good, a higher income increases the demand for leisure the allocation of time to market work declinesThe income effect of a wage increase tends to reduce the quantity of labor supplied to market work

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Flexibility of Hours WorkedThe model constructed previously assumes that workers have some control over the number of hours they work

All of the following factors support this assumption

Opportunities for part time work and overtimeControl over timing and length of vacationsHow long a person stays in school and when they retire

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Nonwage Determinants of Labor Supply

The supply of labor to a particular market depends on a variety of factors other than the wage

Other sources of income

Nonmonetary factors

Value of job experience

Taste for work

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Other Sources of Income

The willingness to supply time to a labor market depends on income on other sources, including prior savings, borrowing, family support, and similar sources

More generally, wealthy people have less incentive to work

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Nonmonetary FactorsLabor is a special kind of resource

Unlike capital and land, which can be supplied regardless of the whereabouts of the resource owner, the supplier of labor must be in the same place where the work is performed

Because the individual must be physically present to supply labor, such nonmonetary factors become important

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Nonmonetary Factors

Nonmonetary factorsDifficulty of the job the more difficult the job, the higher the wage must be, all other things being equalQuality of the work environment the more attractive the working conditions, the more labor an individual will supply to that particular market, other things constantStatus of the position the higher the status, the more labor an individual will supply to that market, other things constant

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Value of Job ExperienceAll else equal, the individual is more inclined to take a job that provides valuable experience

Some are willing to accept relatively low wages now because of the promise of higher wages later

Generally speaking, the more a job enhances future earning possibilities, the greater the supply of labor to that occupation, other things constant

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Taste for WorkJust as the tastes for goods and services differ among consumers, the tastes for work also differ among labor suppliers

Some prefer physical labor while others prefer desk job

Economists argue that tastes are relatively stable and individuals will supply more labor to jobs they like

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Market Supply of LaborThe supply of labor to a particular market is the horizontal sum of all the individual supply curves adds the quantities supplied by each worker at each particular wage

Since individuals have different opportunity costs and tastes for work, and some individual labor supply curves may not bend backward at all, the market supply curve slopes upward

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Why Wages Differ

Wage differences across markets trace to differences in a number of factors

Differences in training, education, age, and experienceDifferences in abilityDifferences in riskGeographic differencesJob discriminationUnion membership

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Training, Education, Age, and Experience

Some jobs pay more because they require a long and costly training period fewer individuals are willing to incur the time and expense required smaller market supply

However, extensive training increases the productivity of labor increased demand for these skills

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Differences in Ability

Because they are more able and talented, some individuals earn more than others with the same training and education

From lawyers, to executives, to professional athletes, pay differences often reflect differing abilities

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Differences in Risk

Research indicates that jobs with a high probability of injury or death pay more, other things constant

Workers also earn more, other things constant, in seasonal jobs such as construction, where the risks of unemployment are greater

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Geographic Differences

People have a strong incentive to sell their resources in the market where they earn the most, other things constant

As a result, they tend to migrate to areas, regions, or countries where the pay is higher wage differences

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Job Discrimination and Union Membership

Some individuals earn different wages because of racial or gender discrimination in the job market

Other things equal, members of organized labor tend to earn more than nonmembers

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UnionsDespite media attention, only about one in seven U.S. workers belongs to a labor union

The overwhelming share of union agreements are reached without a strike

We need to examine the tools that unions employ to seek higher pay for their members

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Types of UnionsA labor union is a group of workers who join together to improve their terms of employment

Craft unions are confined to those with a particular skill, or craft

American Federation of Labor was a national organization of craft unions founded in 1886 under Samuel GompersIs not a union itself but rather an organization of national unions, with each retaining its autonomy

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Types of UnionsThe Clayton Act of 1914 exempted labor unions from antitrust laws unions at competing companies could legally join forces in an attempt to raise wages

Unions were also tax exempt

Membership jumped during World War I but dropped in half between 1920 and 1933, as the government retreated from its support of union efforts

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Types of UnionsThe Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was formed in 1935 to serve as a national organization of unions in mass production industries

The CIO consists of unions whose membership embraced all workers in a particular industry

These industrial unions included all types of workers in an industry

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Collective Bargaining Collective bargaining is the process by which representatives of union and management negotiate a mutually agreeable contract specifying wages, employee benefits, and working conditions

Mediator is an impartial observer who listens to both sides separately and then suggests how each side could adjust its position to resolve differences

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Collective Bargaining

Mediator has no power to impose a settlement on either party

Binding arbitration is a process whereby a neutral third party evaluates both sides of the dispute and issues a ruling that both parties must accept

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The StrikeA major source of union power in the bargaining relationship is the threat of a strike, which is the union’s attempt to withhold labor from the firm

The purpose of a strike is to stop production, thereby forcing the firm to accept the union’s position

However, strikes also impose significant costs on union members

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Union Wages and EmploymentA menu of union desires includes higher wages, more benefits, greater job security, better working conditions, and so on

To keep the analysis manageable, suppose we look at the three ways that a union can try to increase wages

By forming an inclusive, or industrial unionBy forming an exclusive, or craft unionBy increasing the demand for union labor

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Inclusive, or Industrial Unions

With the inclusive, or industrial approach, the union tries to negotiate an industry-wide wage for each class of labor

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Effect of Union Wage Floor

With the inclusive, or industrial union, which negotiates with the entire industry, the wage rate is higher and total employment lower than would be in the absence of a union

Those who cannot find union employment will look for jobs in the nonunion sector the nonunion wage will be driven downward

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Effect of Union Wage FloorWages are relatively higher in the union sector for two reasons

First, because unions bargain for a wage that exceeds the market-clearing wage

Second, because those unable to find employment in the union sector crowd into the nonunion sector

Unions are most successful at raising wages in less-competitive industries

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Exclusive, or Craft, Unions

One way to increase wages while avoiding an excess quantity of labor supplied is for the union to somehow reduce the supply of labor

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Exclusive, or Craft UnionsWhereas wage setting is more typical of the industrial union, restricting supply is more typical of craft unions

The restrictions used are usually defended on the grounds that they protect the public

In reality, the are little more than self-serving attempts to increase wages and incomes

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Increasing the Demand for Labor

A third way to increase the wage is to increase the demand for union labor by somehow shifting the labor demand curve outward

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Increasing the Demand for Labor

Ways in which unions try to increase the demand for union labor

Increase demand for union-made goodsRestrict supply of nonunion-made goodsIncrease productivity of union labor• Some claim that the efficiency with which unions

structure and monitor the labor-management relationship increases the demand for union labor

• According to this theory, unions increase worker productivity by minimizing conflicts, resolving differences, and monitoring workers

• If this is indeed true, the demand for union labor should increase

Featherbedding

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FeatherbeddingFeatherbedding is an attempt to ensure that more union labor is hired than producers would prefer

For example, union rules require that each Broadway theater have a permanent “house” carpenter, electrician, and property manager

Once the show run begins, these workers appear only on payday

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FeatherbeddingFeatherbedding does not create a true increase in the demand, in the sense of shifting the demand curve to the right

Instead, it forces firms to hire more labor than they really want or need, thus moving the firm to a point to the right of its true labor demand curve

The union tries to limit a firm to an all-or-none choice, either hire the number of workers the union requires, or none

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Recent Trends in Union Membership

In 1955, about one-third of wage and salary workers belonged to unions

Since then, union membership as a fraction of the work force has declined now only one in seven belongs to a union

Government workers make up nearly half of all union members typical union member is a schoolteacher

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Recent Trends in Union Membership

Compared with other industrialized countries, the United States ranks relatively low in the extent of unionization

Exhibit 6 illustrates U.S. union membership rates by age and gender in 2000

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Recent Trends in Union Membership

Union membership rates vary greatly across states

Rates tend to be highest in the Northeast United States and lowest in the South

Decline in union membership is due partly to structural changes in the U.S. economy

Employment in the industrial sector has been declining while increasing in the service sectorAnother factor contributing to the decline has been the growth in foreign competitionThe near disappearance of strikes