Unionization, Compensation, and Voice Effects on Quits and Retention Unionization, Compensation, and Voice Effects on Quits and Retention JOHN E. DELERY, NINA GUPTA, JASON D. SHAW, G. DOUGLAS JENKINS, JR., and MARGOT L. GANSTER* This study explores the relationships among unionization, compensation prac- tices, and employee attachment (quit rates and tenure) among trucking companies to assess the applicability of Freeman and Medoff’s exit/voice argument. Union- ization was associated with lower quit rates, higher tenure, a better compensation package, and stronger voice mechanisms. The relationship of unionization to quit rates and tenure becomes nonsignificant after accounting for compensation (pay and benefits), and voice mechanisms do not add explanatory variance. THERE IS STRONG evidence that turnover is lower in heavily unionized industries and among unionized workers than in nonunionized settings. Many researchers argue that this is largely due to union monop- oly bargaining power that increases wages. Freeman (1980) and Freeman and Medoff (1984), on the other hand, propose that unionization reduces voluntary turnover not only through monopoly bargaining power but also by providing workers greater voice in decisions that affect their work life. This article examines these propositions empirically, assessing the extent to which unionization effects on employee turnover and retention are 625 *The authors’ affiliations are the Department of Management, Walton College of Business Administra- tion, University of Arkansas and the Gatton College of Business, School of Management, University of Kentucky. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 1996 Southern Management Association Conference, in New Orleans. We wish to thank our economist colleagues Gary Ferrier and Carl Linvill for their many helpful comments on a previous draft. We also would like to thank our anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. Their comments resulted in a vastly improved article. Requests for reprints should be addressed to John E. Delery, Department of Management, University of Arkansas, Business Administration 402, Fayetteville, AR 72701. This research was supported by a grant from the Mack- Blackwell Rural Transportation Research Center, created and sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation, Fayetteville, AR. G. Douglas Jenkins, Jr., is now deceased. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Vol. 39, No. 4 (October 2000). © 2000 Regents of the University of California Published by Blackwell Publishers, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, and 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF, UK.