ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

I do not feel that day care providers should be unionized. All day care providers are already licensed by the their perspective states and have certain standards that they must follow. These standards are set up to protect the children that providers serve. If all the day care providers were to unionize in their perspective states, then the personal relationships that each individual provider has with the families of the children they care for would be jeopardized. The union would then dictate to the collective providers in each state as to what, how, and when to operate their businesses. Remember, that day care providers are not just large centers with many personnel, but also include smaller home day cares with one or two providers within them. Day care is costly to many families as it is, and to unionize calls for union dues, contracts, and too much involvement in the daily running of a day care. All of this means more costs to parents, as these costs would have to be passed on to them.

Everyone may thing that the union is great for childcare providers. First we must ask these question,
what can the union do for providers that we can not do for ourselves? Second question is ,it worth it in
the long run?Third question ,exactly what benefits are the union claiming to get us? Fourth question,
how long will the union be in business? Fifth question, how much will the union dues be? And the questions can go on, but the real good one is if we join and the union can not get the contract signed ,then who will
we strike against. We can not do a walk out or close our doors to our parents and children. So if the only
thing they are talking is about a raise in the the Government payment for child care then the union need
to go support the parents or donation money to a provider. The bottom line is that if we allow the union to get into our businesses, we will be no longer self employed.Please providers let us recognize and understand the game before we think about playing.

PS> Let's continue to do what we do best. Caring for children in our own special ways.
Let the union dream about the 11 to 15 dollar raise they claim they can get us from
the government. Meanwhile we can continue to spend the 100.00 or more they would
charge us for dues monthly, on enhancing our supplies for the children.

In response to Gwen in MA, if you are not a family child care provider, you don't have a right to an opinion. To "get behind it" as you say, would mean to have the entire EC field
sell out the family provider for "the good of all." Beyond the fact that Family providers
are at the low end of the pecking order amongst Early Childhood Educators, we do
what we do because we can remain independent business owners. A union would
change the entire future of home child care. If the EC family wants to throw the Family Child Care provider to the wolves, "for the good of all",then go for it.

I do not agree with unionization of child care providers. What they want to us believe is that they can help us have better working environment. I work form my home. I alone hold the key to making my business work better. As childcare providers we negotiate pay with the parents. Unions can only negotiate pay for parents who qualify for county assistance.
I genuinely believe in the good unions do for workers. I have been on both sides of this issue. I have done been a spokes person for a union in my area. I know first hand that they will lie to us to get us to do their bidding. In the time I worked with the union never once was it mentioned that in other state they were emplaced by an executive order of the governor. It was always implied the union was form by a vote. This I cannot get behind

I was not able to find the unionization report on the NWLC home page. But I would like to throw out a comment to the field -- get behind it. Right now I can think of 100 ways in which one part of the ECE field is suspicious of, jealous of, condescending to, paranoid about, distrustful of regulation of, competing against, or trying to eliminate independently licensed family child care providers. If we don't like the disparities in compensation in different parts of the field, let's support all the groups that are trying to improve both quality and compensation rather than competing against each others. As a field, we are not as strong as we used to be, and we need to unite and support each other or we will continue to get weaker until our knowledge, skills, and dispositions are no longer recognized.
Unions too have been weakened by
concerted anti-union policies of government. Let's recognize our friends, and at least stop undermining one another.