Effects of unions on job satisfaction: The role of work-related values and perceived rewards

This study examines the effects of unions on five facets of job satisfaction. Following E. A. Locke (Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1969, 4, 309-336; in M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago: Rand McNally, 1976) unions are hypothesized to have only indirect effects on facet satisfaction through work-related values, perceived rewards, or both. These hypotheses are tested with multiple regression and logit analyses in a national probability sample of full-time employed adults. Results consistently support the hypothesis that unions have only indirect effects on job satisfaction. Unions increase pay satisfaction by increasing both pay values and pay outcomes. Unions have negative effects on (a) satisfaction with work itself (by decreasing job scope perceptions), (b) satisfaction with co-workers and supervision (through less favorable perceptions of supervisory behavior), and (c) satisfaction with promotions (through lower values toward promotions). Results are discussed in the context of the processes through which unions alter the employment relationship and employees' subsequent affective evaluation of their work environment.