Trade Unions and Small Firms: Is it Size that Counts?

Abstract

The question under investigation in this paper is whether size is a determinant of union membership. The determinants of union membership in small (20–99 employees), medium (100–499 employees) and large (500+ employees) firms are explored through bi-variate and multi-variate analyses of the 1995Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey data. An interesting finding is that size is not significant. This result runs counter to the common understanding that low unionisation in small firms is the result of the firm being small. The implications of our findings are discussed.