Lay Activism and Activism Intentions in a Faculty Union

Prior conceptual work on union renewal places activism in a central role. Understanding of activism’s antecedents, however, remains limited. This study uses a sample of faculty union members at a large public university, thus providing considerable diversity in work settings within a single employer organization. Using survey and archival data, this study explores the role of selected contextual factors on faculty labor activism. A tentative but interesting finding is that linkages to other activists appear to be a stronger predictor of individual activism than does departmental membership density. That is, it seems that “subcultures of apathy” can exist in even high membership density settings and that social ties to activists may spur members to heightened levels of activism.