Labor Union Solidarity, Occupational Risks, and Demand for Redistribution in Europe

Political economy models of redistribution start from self-interest: citizens want redistribution when their income lies below the mean, or when they risk losing it and value redistribution as insurance. Recent work adds other-regarding motives and shows that altruism matters most among the affluent, who have the least to gain from redistribution themselves. This paper carries that logic from income to risk: other-regarding support for redistribution also rises as a worker’s own need for insurance falls.

Using ten rounds of the European Social Survey across twenty-six countries from 2002 to 2023, I compare union members with non-members at the same levels of income and occupational unemployment risk. Members support redistribution more, and the difference is largest among the workers whose risk of unemployment is lowest. The difference is also larger where the labor movement organizes many low-income workers and smaller where membership is concentrated among higher earners, and inclusiveness predicts fairness beliefs that favor redistribution toward others. Organizational case evidence, including the German minimum wage campaign and comparative cases from Britain, the Low Countries, Italy, Austria, and the Nordic countries, complements the survey analysis. Solidarity, in short, is sustained by inclusive labor movements and eroded where unions leave low-paid workers outside.

Draft available upon request.