TY - JOUR T1 - Why Do Unionized Workers Have More Nonfatal Occupational Injuries? JF - ILR Review Y1 - 2015 A1 - Alejandro Donado KW - labor unions KW - occupational health and safety KW - panel data KW - working conditions AB -

Most empirical studies have estimated a positive union–nonunion “injury gap,” suggesting that unionized workers are more likely than their nonunion counterparts to have a nonfatal occupational injury. Using individual-level panel data for the first time in this type of study, the author explores several explanations for this puzzling result. He finds that controlling for time-invariant individual fixed effects already reduces the gap by around 40%. Some of the explanations he studies contribute to reducing this gap even further. The author does not, however, find evidence of the gap becoming negative, and the impact of unions on nonfatal injuries appears to be insignificant at best.

VL - 68 L2 - eng UR - http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/md/awi/forschung/dp551.pdf CP - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Disposable Bodies and Labor Rights: Workers in China's Automotive Industry JF - WorkingUSA Y1 - 2014 A1 - Anita Chan A1 - Yiu Por Chen A1 - Yuhua Xie A1 - Zhao Wei A1 - Cathy Walker KW - automotive assembly KW - Automotive industry KW - China KW - injuries KW - occupational health and safety KW - worker safety AB -

This article focuses on the serious occupational health and safety (OHS) injuries affecting the workers of one of China's most important industries—automotive assembly—and particularly the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) that are common in the industry. The data are drawn from a 2011 survey of 1,100 autoworkers conducted at twelve assembly plants in seven Chinese cities. By correlating injury rates with age, speed of the assembly line, length of work hours, mental pressure, availability of floaters to replace absent workers, ease to take sick leave, etc., the data identify the most salient causes of MSD. The study raises the issue that the state and management's ignoring of MSD and the lack of workers' participation and representation in the plants constituted a violation of labor rights. The article offers some remedies that are applicable both in China and internationally.

VL - 17 L2 - eng CP - 4 ER -