Bargaining Structure and Union Inclusiveness: the impact of coordinated bargaining on non-standard employment in South Korea

Abstract

This study examines the impact of coordinated bargaining on the inclusiveness of bargaining agreements across different union identities and types of non-standard employment. Using national representative survey data from South Korea, I find that coordinated bargaining increased pay for direct-hire fixed-term workers (FTWs) when the union was affiliated with a militant union confederation. However, no relationship was found for temporary agency workers (TAWs) and subcontractors. These results further our understanding of how the identities of union confederations can influence their approach to representing non-standard workers and how those influences can be manifested through workplace-level collective bargaining outcomes.