Lei, Jianxuan. “Contested solidarity: Trade union memebrship and immigration attitudes in Europe.” Status: Preparing for submission.
Abstract: Do trade union members have more positive or negative attitudes towards immigration compared to non-members? This paper answers the question by analyzing ten rounds of the European Social Survey data. Focusing on a sample of over 70,000 native-born workers across 15 countries, I present three key observations. First, a significant gender difference exists in the relationship between union membership and immigration attitudes. On average, male union members exhibit more negative attitudes toward immigration than non-members within the same country, while female members generally express more positive views. Second, the 2015 European migrant crisis marks a turning point in union members’ immigration attitudes. Following its onset, male union members began to hold more negative views than non-members, and female union members stopped showing more positive attitudes. Third, institutional contexts matter. Union members in strong industrial relations systems tend to express more negative views on immigration than non-members. I further demonstrate that these patterns are at least partly explained by individuals’ gendered motives for joining unions and the tension between egalitarianism and inclusiveness as union objectives. Finally, I contend that immigration has broader implications for social equality, which extend beyond the internal solidarity of organized labor, using support for redistribution as an example.