Abstract

The present study tried to determine the predictors of union commitment in order to clarify the psychological mechanisms of industrial relations in Korea Values on union, job satisfaction, and union commitment were measured from 237 white collar workers and 146 blue collar workers. The results showed that the lower the workers thought of the level of industrial democracy in Korea, the stronger they perceived of the power of the individual union, and the lower their job satisfaction, the more they were committed to union activities. Furthermore, as the degree of commitment gets very much influenced by the values the workers have on industrial conflicts, it appears that workers with radical views on industrial relations are much more committed to unions than those with a unitarist or pluralist view. On the other hand, the subdimensions of job satisfaction variable that affect the degree of union commitment vary depending on the types of job. In the case of blue collar workers, satisfactions with pay and coworkers had high predictive values and in white collar workers, satisfactions with the quantity and quality of work were important. There was no significant difference in the degree of union commitment depending on the workers' age, education, financial status, nor job mobility.