Formalization, collectivization, and the demand for union services

Formalized collective bargaining as opposed to individual employer-employee negotiation is the fundamental characteristic of a unionized labor market. Formalization involves the use of rules instead of employer discretion. Collectivization substitutes simultaneous decision making for all workers in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of labor research Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 31 - 37
Main Author Bloch, Farrell E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Fairfax, Va George Mason University, Dept. of Economics 01.01.1982
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Collective bargaining
Collectivism
Costs
Demand
Employees
Labor market
Labor negotiations
Union membership
Unionization
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Summary:Formalized collective bargaining as opposed to individual employer-employee negotiation is the fundamental characteristic of a unionized labor market. Formalization involves the use of rules instead of employer discretion. Collectivization substitutes simultaneous decision making for all workers in a unit for a set of individual employee decisions. Formalization and collectivization are present in both nonunion and union labor markets and their extent varies with and between the 2 sectors. An analysis of the formalization of employment relations that accompanies unionization indicates that certain negotiation costs will be reduced by the coming of unionization, and that work units in which these reductions are largest are likely to be unionized. Analysis of the collectivization of employment relations accompanying unionization suggests that certain types of employees benefit more than others from collectivization, and that these employees would be expected to have a strong demand for union membership.
ISSN:0195-3613
1936-4768
DOI:10.1007/BF02685349