Unions' Responses to Family Concerns

In analyzing labor unions' responses to family concerns, this paper makes three arguments. First, analyses of unions force us to shift our perspective. Many union officials insist that work-family issues should include not only what have become the conventional benefits in the work-family literature (like family leave, childcare, and alternative work schedules), but also health benefits, vacation time, and a broad range of issues that are usually excluded from such analyses. By reinvigorating the class component, this change in focus shifts our understanding not only of what policies should be included, but also whom the policies can and do serve. Second, unionization cannot be treated as a dichotomy, but rather requires a more nuanced analysis. Our interviews revealed striking differences among unions, with regard to the more conventional work-family benefits, including flextime, childcare and the FMLA. Finally, we argue that not only cultural factors (like member expectations), but also structural factors, including the gender of the membership and leadership, as well as union strength, help explain why such variation among unions exists.