Competing Interest Groups and Union Members' Voting

In: Social science quarterly, Band 82, Heft 1, S. 105-116

Abstract

Objective. This study is designed to assess the impact of support for union and social interest groups on labor union members' voting. Methods. Descriptive and logit analyses of members' support for senatorial and gubernatorial candidates in the 1994 Pennsylvania elections examine the relationship between support for the union and support for the Christian Coalition and National Rifle Association. Results. The results indicate that union members who are more supportive of labor's political goals are more likely to support union‐endorsed candidates. But union members differ considerably in their support for union political goals vis‐a‐vis the Christian Coalition and National Rifle Association. Conclusions. Unions were a potentially pivotal force in the 1994 Pennsylvania elections. If they had been better able to educate their members about the importance of voting their economic self‐interest, then the election outcomes might have been reversed.