The Effects on Union Membership of Race and Immigration Status

Abstract

This study empirically examined the relationship between individuals' race and their union membership status, with particular emphasis on Asian Americans. Using a data set drawn from 14,178 respondents in the March 1996 Current Population Survey, the authors evaluated the predictions of three competing theoretical perspectives-the segmented labor market model, the assimilation model, and the self-protection model-on the union status of Asian Americans. Probit regression results showed that Asians are more likely to join unions than whites. Contrasted to the cases of blacks and whites, immigration-related variables (e.g., length of stay in the United States, naturalized citizens, and foreign nationals) were found to be more significant determinants of union status for Asians than the conventional explanatory variables of union status (e.g., earnings and age). These results are more compatible with the assimilation and the self-protection models than the segmented labor market model.