More men have parenting responsibilities. As a result, unions are starting to push work-family issues higher on the agenda. Flexible hours has certainly been something unions have been negotiating. Debra King is with the 1199 HealthCare workers union. She also heads a new coalition of 18 unions that last year won more than 170 million dollars in child care funds from Albany.
King lists a few other union accomplishments.
Bell Atlantic union workers can also choose a gradual return to work after childbirth. Their union, the CWA, is running a pilot program in which parents can bring kids to the workplace during holidays. There's also a compressed workweek. That's been around since the 1980s, though it wasn't stressed out parents who pushed for this perk. Donna Dolan is the CWA's regional Director of Work Family Issues.