A comparison of the cyclical behavior of union and nonunion wages in the United States

This paper presents an extensive analysis of the behavior of union and nonunion wages over the business cycle, using quasi-panels developed from the Current Population Survey, in an attempt to resolve or reconcile competing claims about the cyclical behavior of union and nonunion wages. Union wages were roughly as procyclical as nonunion wages were, prior to the early 1980s. Substantial reductions in union wage pro cyclicality since then are associated with reductions in the procyclical ex ercise of bargaining power.