Trade Unions and Job Satisfaction*

Members of trade unions express greater dissatisfaction with the conditions of their jobs than nonmembers. Alternative explanations of this are examined. It is argued that Richard B. Freeman and James L. Medoff's (1984) "voice" model of trade unionism does not provide a satisfactory account of the dissatisfaction expressed by unionists in the Australian youth labor market. Evidence is presented to suggest that the negative relationship between job satisfaction and unionism may be attributable to unpleasant work environments, which both induce dissatisfaction and motivate workers to join unions.