Comparing union and nonunion establishments in Britain

Existing survey research in Britain has shown that there are notable differences between the characteristics of union and nonunion establishments. But at the same time case study research has indicated that the characteristics and employment practices of nonunion organizations vary quite widely. An analysis is presented of some data contained in the 1990 national Workplace Industrial Relations survey. The findings reveal that a sizable minority of nonunion establishments have similar characteristics to unionized establishments which, in turn make them particularly vulnerable to union organizing efforts and help account for the fact that it is these nonunion establishments which are most strongly opposed to a possible union presence.