Trucking Regulation, Unionization, and Labor Earnings: 1973-85

Current Population Survey (CPS) data for the years 1973 to 1985 are used to examine the earnings of union and nonunion truck drivers during and after ICC regulation of the motor carrier industry. Hourly earnings for union drivers fell following deregulation, whereas wage changes among nonunion drivers closely mirrored economy-wide changes among nonunion operatives. Significant narrowing of the union-nonunion wage differential occurred primarily in the previously regulated for-hire sector of the trucking industry and in those regions with the most extensive nonunion operations. Despite some narrowing, the union premium remained sizable following deregulation. Significantly larger wage concessions would have been necessary to have prevented the marked decline in union trucking and Teamster membership that followed deregulation.