Unionization and Nonunion Wage Patterns: Do Low-Wage Workers Gain the Most? *

A model of threat-induced nonunion wage supplements is developed in which worker support of unionization depends on both the relative wage between sectors and the likelihood of retaining employment after unionization. In contrast to previous models, the lowest wage workers no longer consistently receive the largest wage supplement. Samples of blue-collar workers and nonprofessional white-collar workers confirm that the lowest paid workers do not receive the largest wage supplements. Blue-collar male workers in the middle of the wage distribution receive the largest wage supplement, while blue-collar female workers at the top of the wage distribution receive the largest wage supplement.