Collective Bargaining and Faculty Compensation: Faculty as a New Working Class

This article assesses the impact of the unionization offaculties on the average salary and compensation offaculty members in four-year colleges and universities generally and in public and private institutions separately. A multivariate model that included other institutional characteristics apt to affect the association between unionization and faculty remuneration was tested with data on 1,194 four-year colleges and universities. We found that collective bargaining has been more effective in public institutions than in private institutions, as predicted by recent discussions of public sector unionization and the new working class. We also found that differences in the missions of institutions, the institutions' ability to pay, and regional values had significant effects on faculty remuneration. Finally, we discuss how organizational structure and institutional environment affect the economic worth of faculties.