The Dynamics of Unionizing Establishments: A Learning Theory and Some Evidence

The organization of workers at an establishment into a trade union is a dynamic process. Establishments that have recently been unionized are relatively likely to switch back into nonunion status, compared with long-unionized establishments. This paper develops a model of learning by workers about the value of union. It explicitly models the U.S. institutional features of an establishment-level election process. It applies the theory to data on National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections in the nursing home industry