Trade Unions: Reasons for Joining and Membership Satisfaction

Abstract

A number of overseas studies have argued that most members join trade unions for one of three main groups of reasons; making allowance for some differing terminology, these groups are instrumental or egocentric, ideological or sociocentric, and normative or social control reasons. This paper, drawing on survey data from members of a large Australian union, tests and broadly supports this typology. It also examines differences in union satisfaction between the three groups and finds that normative union members express lower levels of satisfaction with the union than either of the other groups. After controlling for other influences, we also found a small but significant difference in union satisfaction between instrumentals and ideologues. Political orientation, salary, workplace characteristics and the approval of significant others in respect to union membership were also associated with union satisfaction.