Union Leadership and Member Attitudes A Multi-Level Analysis

• Published in: Journal of applied psychology Vol. 94; no. 2; pp. 392 - 410
• Main Authors: Hammer, Tove Helland, Bayazit, Mahmut, Wazeter, David L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-03-2009
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude; Attitudes; Biological and medical sciences; Commitment; Correlation analysis; Culture; Efficiency, Organizational; Faculty; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Humans; Job Satisfaction; Justice; Labor Union Members; Labor Unions; Labor Unions - organization & administration; Leadership; Loyalty; Male; Middle Aged; Models, Psychological; Multidimensional analysis; Occupational psychology; Organization and management. Professional relation; Organizational behavior; Participation; Perceptions; Personnel Loyalty; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social Justice; Social perception; Studies; Teachers; Trade unions; Union leadership; union leadership; justice perceptions; union participation; union instrumentality beliefs; union commitment; Social environment; Belief; Human; Justice; Leadership; Participation; Social perception; Attitude; Trade-Union; Personal commitment; Occupational environment
• ISSN: 0021-9010; 1939-1854
• DOI: 10.1037/a0013613

Analyses of union leadership roles show that union presidents should have both a within-union focus and an external focus. The authors combined multi-level survey data from 3,871 union members in 248 local teachers' unions with archival and field staff data to examine relationships between leadership and members' perceptions of union instrumentality and justice, union commitment, and participation. The results showed significant union-level effects on members' beliefs about, and attitudes toward, their unions, attributable to the presidents' internal and external leadership, wage outcomes, and union characteristics. Relationships between internally focused leadership and members' loyalty and willingness to work for the union were partially mediated by perceptions of union instrumentality and justice. These perceptions fully mediated the relationship between externally focused leadership and union loyalty.