Attitudes of Air Force personnel toward unionization

The purpose of the research was to examine the attitudes of Air Force personnel toward unionization. A survey instrument was administered to a stratified random sample of 800 officers and 800 enlisted members. Factor analysis was employed on the attitude questions and five factors characteristic of Air Force personnel concerns were identified. The factors were designated: Working Effectiveness and Relationships, Job Satisfaction, Compensation, Military Promotion System, and Communication. A stepwise Discriminant Analysis was performed on these factors and the cognitive and demographic questionnaire items. The sample was segregated into three groups: those that indicated they would, would not or were undecided about joining a military union. Fifteen variables comprised the discriminant set with Working Effectiveness and Relationships, Military Rank, Military Promotion System, and Educational Level being the most discriminatory. The group membership of 76.24 percent of the cases was correctly predicted. A Scheffe's Multiple Comparison was also performed on the means of three groups. Significant differences were found between the groups on many of the key discriminating variables; however, the join and undecided groups were similar on several items and their means consistently moved in the same direction on all discriminant items. The results highlighted areas of dissatisfaction that Air Force policy-makers can utilize to change member attitudes toward unionization.