Marick F. Masters

Determinants of PAC Participation Among Large Corporations

Political scientists and other researchers have begun to focus increasingly on the role of interest groups in American politics. In particular, they have devoted increasing attention to the political representation of institutional interests. Several studies have been published that examine various aspects of business political action committees. However, there has been a tendency to treat business PACs as pervasive or homogenous, despite the fact that most businesses do not have a PAC. This study has attempted to address this deficiency by examining the determinants of PAC participation among Fortune-ranked firms in the 1981-1982 election period. Using an exploratory expected benefits-costs framework, the study empirically tests hypotheses on the effect of organizational and contextual factors on the probability of a corporation having an active PAC. The results support several hypotheses and suggest that the expected benefits and costs of PAC activity affect a corporations decision to form a PAC.

Unionism and voter turnout

Conventional wisdom suggests that union members and their families are more politically active, and more likely to vote, than nonmembers. This study presents, to our knowledge, the first systematic empirical examination of that conventional wisdom. Results suggest that union members are more likely than nonmembers to vote in a general election, and that union campaign efforts increase voter turnout generally. There is no evidence, however, that union family members are more likely to vote than nonmembers, or that union status affects an individual’s likelihood of voting in a primary election.

The Effects of Union Organizational and Environmental Characteristics on Union Political Action

It is well known that organized labor is politically active. Few studies, however, have examined labors political activities or assessed the extent of interunion differences in political action. This study partially fills these research gaps by empirically analyzing the involvement of individual unions in electoral and legislative activities over the years 1978-82. The results suggest that union-specific characteristics influence union political action and, tentatively, that unions make trade-offs between political activity and other activities, such as organizing.

Congressional support for unions’ positions across diverse legislation

Organized labor has become increasingly active in national politics. This development has encouraged research into union political activities, particularly in the area of legislative politics. But little research has been published on the basis of congressional support for union positions on diverse public policy items. This paper has examined the correlates of congressional support for unions’ positions across 33 roll-call votes taken in the first session of the 98th Congress. Empirical analyses suggest that certain factors, such as legislators’ party affiliation and constituents’ ideology, are consistent correlates of such support across diverse legislation.

The Determinants of Funds Raised by Corporate Political Action Committees: An Empirical Examination

Organizational theorists and other management scholars have long recognized that business corporations operate in complex environments that significantly affect their performance. In recent years, ...

The causes of union political involvement: A longitudinal analysis

This study examines the political involvement of unions over the 1978, 1980, and 1982 congressional elections. An empirical model focusing on the campaign contributions made by unions and the number of registered lobbyists employed by unions is elaborated and tested. The findings suggest that unions’ political activities are systematically undertaken and that they have increased dramatically over the past three elections. Specific characteristics of unions, such as membership size and dependence on governmental regulations, directly affect the political involvement of unions. Further, given the current economic and political climate, it is likely that this political action will continue to increase.

Union commitment and membership support for political action: An exploratory analysis

Union political activity has always been controversial, even among union members. Research has shown that a sizable minority of union members question the propriety of union political involvement and disagree with union leaders on public policy issues. It has also shown, however, that union members’ commitment to the union may be positively associated with members’ political support. This study extends this research by statistically estimating the relationship between union commitment and members’ support for their national union’s political involvement. Based on the questionnaire responses of several hundred local union members, the findings support a positive relationship between union commitment and political support.

Federal-Employee Unions and Political Action

This study examines the political role of the three largest nonpostal unions in the federal sector between 1977 and 1981. The author shows that although these unions engaged in a variety of electoral and lobbying pursuits, their commitment of resources to political action has been surprisingly modest. Moreover, despite legislative records that are numerically impressive, these unions suffered serious defeats on several important issues during the period studied.

Class Compromises in Industrial Democracies

l he stability of democracies has been of critical interest to students of comparative politics. One question that has received limited empirical analysis is, How do we integrate class conflict into the broader concept of democratic stability? We extend the work of Przeworski and Wallerstein. Our principal thesis is that as the material bases of class exchange diminish, the state intervenes economically to expand the resources conducive to class consent. A tripartite coalition thus emerges, with the state facilitating class compromise between labor and capital through economic policies. We explore this thesis in a cross-national analysis of data collected from 20 advanced industrial democracies during the time period 1965-83, and explore the essential conclusions and the political-economic implications of our findings.

Union legislative records during president reagan's first term

It has been assumed that organized labor’s political record has declined markedly since President Reagan was elected in 1980. This study shows this contention to be only partly true. While organized labor’s political influence has declined somewhat, particularly in the executive branch, there is considerable variation in the legislative agendas, objectives, and successes across a sample of eight major unions studied. This suggests that union legislative activity should be studied on a union-by-union basis.