TY - JOUR AU - Kjellberg, Anders AU - Nergaard, Kristine PY - 2022/02/23 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Union Density in Norway and Sweden: Stability versus Decline JF - Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies JA - NJWLS VL - 12 IS - S8 SE - Articles DO - 10.18291/njwls.131697 UR - https://tidsskrift.dk/njwls/article/view/131697 SP - AB - <p>The aim is to explain why union density is not only considerably higher in the Ghent country Sweden than in non-Ghent Norway but also why it has declined much more in Sweden, in particular among blue-collar workers. We show how changes to Swedish unemployment insurance in 2007–2013 were followed by a decline in union density and how white-collar unions were more successful than blue-collar unions in developing supplementary income insurance schemes that counteracted membership losses. This type of institutional explanation is nevertheless insufficient. In Norway, too, blue-collar density has decreased while white-collar workers have maintained their density rate. Norwegian data further show that even without unemployment insurance funds, it is possible to achieve a fairly high union density at workplaces with collective agreements. However, without unemployment benefits like we find in Sweden, it is increasingly challenging to establish an institutional foundation for a social custom of unionization.</p> ER -