Variations in union democracy and union officer ideology
Gabriel Lenz, Professor
Political Science
Closed. This professor is continuing with Spring 2024 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Fall 2024.
Unions are one of the few democratic institutions within the workplace. However, the institutional structure of unions can encourage or constrain democracy within unions. I am interested in investigating the inner workings of union locals by collecting data on union local constitutions and bylaws, and collective bargaining agreements.
Additionally, unions are important institutions for organizing workers, however, we know little about what union leaders want. I am interested in examining how union officers' ideologies have changed over time.
Role: Undergraduate research assistants will work on one of three projects. The first project focuses on collecting and coding collective bargaining agreements to get a sense for what union officers successfully negotiate for their members. The second project requires collecting and coding union local constitutions and bylaws to understand the institutional setup of union locals. The third project focuses on collecting data on the types of candidates that union officers donated to across time to estimate how their ideologies have changed.
The apprenticeship is designed to introduce undergraduates to one part of social science research. Undergraduate research assistants will learn about how to collect, code, and analyze data. Furthermore, research assistants will learn more about labor and union politics in American politics.
Qualifications: Research apprentices should be familiar with how to use Excel or Google Spreadsheets. Some exposure to R is preferred but not required.
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: Over zoom or in person.
Social Sciences