368 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
UAW, and AFSCME, among others, have reframed their platforms to
emphasize such issues as wage stagnation, employment insecurity, and the
growing economic inequality between workers and owners. They are talking
about corporate responsibility, democracy in the workplace, and worker
rights. Other important issues being discussed are universal health care,
continuing education and retraining, and making child care available to
low - wage earners. Unions have begun to emphasize the need for greater
racial, gender, and class equality and improving the political and economic
status of workers and their communities. Moving beyond the traditional
subject matters of collective bargaining such as wages, hours, and working
conditions, these new issues focus attention on the needs for affordable and
safe day care, maternal leave benefi ts, an increased ability to work fl exible
hours, the elimination of sexual harassment and discrimination in
the workplace, and eliminating the exploitation of immigrant workers.
Unions have sought to expand the scope of bargaining to include such
issues as agency - level policymaking, agency missions, standards of service,
coverage for malpractice and professional liability insurance, legal repre-
sentation of workers, workload issues, the provision of in - service train-
ing, fi nancial assistance for licensing examinations, and remuneration for
enhanced education. New employee benefi ts, including the introduction of
labor - management committees, the provision of mental health and substance
abuse benefi ts, child care benefi ts, employee individual development plans,
incentive awards, counseling for tests, alternative work schedules, safety
precautions such as guidelines covering the use of video display terminals,
and tax - sheltered annuities are also fi nding their way in collective bargaining
agreements.
When employees choose to join unions, increased compensation and
benefi ts are not the only reasons. Often there are concerns about effec-
tive management and the quality of the workplace climate. Market - based
health care reforms are having a negative impact on the environment in
which registered nurses work. They have been replaced with less qualifi ed
and less expensive personnel such as licensed practical nurses and techni-
cians. Patient staffi ng ratios have also been increased. Some of the reforms,
many nurses believe, threaten the quality of patient care, and many nurses
believe that joining a union will help them gain greater control over patient
care. Collective bargaining allows professionals the ability to demand that
the standards of their profession be respected and enforced. The threat of
losing control over their environment is a factor in the decision to vote for
union representation ( http://www.uannurse.org ). Nurses with a negative perception
of the climate are more likely to vote for a union in a representative election