Abstract:
Previous studies have shown that public employee unions can affect the budgets for their municipal services. I determine the specific sources of these increased budgets for municipal services: increased wages, nonwage bargaining issues, or political activity. Using data from national, cross-sectional samples for police and fire departments, I show that increased union wages do not affect the size of police and fire budgets size whereas nonwage bargaining outcomes and union political activity do affect police and fire budgets. Thus, nonwage contract issues should be recognized as another important vehicle for public employee unions to affect the budgets for their services.