Blue collar desire to join TWU Local 100

Labor market distinguishes itself from most product markets in the extreme diversity of the characteristics of the goods being traded. For agricultural commodities, raw materials or semifinished products like steel each unit is identical and the decision to buy or sell is made strictly on the basis of price. Other products particularly consumer goods such as automobiles, cereals and so on are differentiated from each other by their physical appearance quality and brand. The decision to buy and sell these products is influenced not only by price but also by these non price factors.

The same holds true in the labor market except for the degree of differentiation in the characteristic of jobs and workers which are frequently much greater. Individual workers differ by age, race, sex, education, experience, skills and complex personality factors such as pleasant personality and motivation. While MTA may have several types of equipments and New Yorkers may choose which mode of transportation they prefer - TWU Local 100 members also choose what equipment they prefer to work with. Just like the MTA has the choice in its workforce TWU Local 100 members have a choice of the equipment they prefer. Each member differs in the type and difficulty of the work, commuting distance, fringe benefits and quality of employee relations as well as wages. 

The diversity in characteristics of blue collar and jobs has two consequences for the operation of the labor market. The first is to make an exchange in the labor market which is a function not only of wages but also of the many non wage issues that differentiate blue collar worker jobs from one another. Blue collar workers do not have to choose between jobs solely on the basis of pay but must also take into account the TWU Local 100 camaraderie which is unmatched throughout the nation, maybe rivaled only by the teamsters of the bygone days.

The second way in which the differentiation of jobs and workers affect the labor market is by complicating the acquisition and evaluation of information that both buyers and sellers must have before an exchange can take place. In the wheat market for example each bushel of wheat is alike and the buyer need only acquire information about the price that various sellers are demanding. In the labor market however both buyers and sellers invest much more time and effort in evaluating the many non pecuniary and hard to measure characteristics that differentiate each worker and job. However being a TWU Local 100 member is a huge incentive in the minds of blue collar workers. The result is that exchange in the labor market is more costly to undertake and less likely to result in the most efficient match of buyer and seller compared to markets where the product is more nearly standardized.