Members' participation in the union: An investigation of some determinants in Singapore

Data obtained from unionized employees in Singapore (N = 205) were used to investigate Strauss' (1977) suggestion that union participation studies be fitted into the general theories of role and commitment. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the contribution of role commitment variables (family and union) net of demographic, job or work and union-related variables to the explained variance in a unidimensional model of union participation. The model accounted for 43% (R(2)) of the explained variance in participation with the role commitment antecedent set contributing a modest 5% (Delta R(2)). The significant positive individual variables were union satisfaction, union commitment, union tenure, and gender while union socialization and marital status positively, and family commitment negatively approached significance. Extrinsic satisfaction was significantly negatively related to participation. Limitations of the study, directions for future research and the implications of the findings are discussed.