Trade and Strike Activity in the Postwar United States

M. Rodwan Abouharb and Benjamin O. Fordham
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M. Rodwan Abouharb: Department of Political Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Benjamin O. Fordham: Department of Political Science, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA

Social Sciences, 2020, vol. 9, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of international trade on strike activity within the United States since World War II. Globalization may influence strike activity through its effects on the bargaining position of labor. Alternatively, if labor and management take their changed bargaining positions into account, the rate of change in openness could create greater uncertainty in negotiations between them and lead to more strikes as a result. Empirical analysis of strike activity in the 50 states over this period supports the argument concerning uncertainty in the bargaining process. Import competition may also indirectly reduce strike activity by decreasing union density.

Keywords: trade; strikes; work stoppages; United States; union density (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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