Union members’ attitudes and perceptions about their union: Winning a representational election following a merger of four hospitals

In preparation for a representational election following a hospital merger, one union initiated a study of its members’ perceptions. Telephone interviews with a random sample of 410 union members assessed the union’s provision of service to its members, communication with members, union satisfaction, union democracy, union loyalty and their sense of community. Union loyalty, union satisfaction, sense of community and union democracy were the best predictors of the members’ views and attitudes about their union, and their predisposition to support the union in the representational election. The results demonstrate the importance of both instrumentality and socialization in a union’s survival.