These associations have a very strong culture, but quite different from union culture. There is a collective tilt to it, but not collective in the sense of a working class movement. It is collective in the sense of bringing a group of professionals together who share common interests around a subject matter.

I want to share some of the highlights of my work with professional associations. During interviews with membership directors of a number of major professional associations, I focused on the motivations professionals have to join such groups. At first, economic benefits and services were the least important reason. But they are becoming increasingly important. Professional associations are now being asked by their members to respond to changes in the labor market and offer such things as information on job openings. But the kinds of economic benefits--such as credit cards offered through our associate member programs in the labor movement--are still rather unimportant.

The other benefits-- collective and individual motivations to join professional associations-- are all related in some way to professional development. The major contribution of professional associations is that they establish professional status. Most sociological work on professions argues that you cannot have a profession without a professional association.

So part of the definition of a “professional” is to have an association which establishes professional status and reinforces and promotes that status in a variety of ways. One integral part of this to become a source of information for the members of the organization on the recent developments in the field. All professional associations to some degree sponsor and provide continuing education and professional development for their members. This is what they do, this is why they exist, this is why people join. In this context professional associations pursue narrowly defined political action programs.

But those political action programs are clearly targeted at establishing licensing requirements, which in our country is handled state by state. So there are political action programs in virtually every state to establish licensing requirements, to establish continuing education requirements in order to maintain certification in the field, and to establish scope of practice regulations to protect the field from people who do not have the same kind of credentials and training from encroaching on it.

So while professional workers' attitudes toward unions are ambivalent, they really embrace the role that professional associations play-- the political role that they play and the professional development that they offer. This includes members of the profession who are union activists who are very committed to their professional associations and sometimes even more committed to their professional associations than their union.

There is quite a bit of variation from one professional association to another in terms of how much is offered. But certification tends to be a driving force. The certification requirements necessary to practice in the field are especially relevant to the work associations do on recertification. It is not just being certified, which often is just a college degree, but it is recertification. Associations are intimately involved in maintaining a license to practice and in specialty credentialing.

Since licensing requirements vary from state to state, associations have to keep track of these. They may also adopt national standards, but they have to pursue license requirements throughout the various states, as well as the related issue of continuing education. Associations not only deliver training, they also often license other providers of that training whether they are employers, private providers, universities or even manufacturers of products that are used by that profession. They also may be involved in developing licensing exams and in accrediting universities to give degrees that might be required to get a license to practice in the field. In addition to all of that, they deliver their own direct certification to members, usually in specialty areas. The most popular professional development is narrowly aimed at specialties within the field, which is what the members of the profession want. So there is an intricate web of involvement in all aspects of professional development--licensing, credentialing, and certification--that is supported by the members.

But there are often conflicting objectives for members of associations. In terms of recertification, members of the associations want easy access, easy credit. But at the same time, as professionals, they want access to complex information and critical analysis. And it is not always easy to make those two things work together in professional development programs. Nonetheless, professional development is the lifeblood of these associations and they have tremendous concern with the quality of what they offer and what they endorse, as well as with member satisfaction related to the education.

How does all of this relate to unions? Unions of professional workers have historically placed a priority on traditional union work place concerns--collective bargaining, working conditions, and political action as it relates to union priorities. Overall, the emphasis is on the interface with the employer which is not always friendly. It can be quite conflictual at times. Professional associations are very different. Their priority is on professional issues-- defining, promoting, defending the profession, and political action as it relates to licensure and scope of practice. They maintain positive relations with employers and, in fact, often certify them as reasonable providers of training in the field. They steer clear of work place concerns.

In the current world there are tremendous environmental pressures that are affecting the nature of work generally and professional work specifically. Technological change is narrowing expertise and promoting specialization. Labor market changes are reducing job security. Regulatory changes are reducing professional control over job content. Increased reliance on market forces leads to increased emphasis on cost and reduction of emphasis on quality. Combined, these pressures are challenging organizations of professional workers, unions and associations alike, to re-evaluate their role and consider new approaches.

Professional associations are exploring ways to increase attention to workplace concerns through job search assistance, portable benefits, and setting standards for employers in terms of how they treat professionals. Some are even considering dropping their official opposition to unionization. Others are considering unionization as an option for the association to pursue. And we are beginning to see a number of alliances with unions.

At the same time on the other side, it is extremely important for unions to address the changes that happen because of environmental concerns. In particular, members are more concerned about the issue of integrity and quality of their professional work because it is being threatened. Their ability to exercise professional discretion has been curtailed. Unions have a tremendous amount to learn from associations on how to address these professional concerns that have always taken a back seat to primary collective bargaining objectives.

I would argue that most unions of professional workers have not embraced a culture of professional excellence as a top priority. Most have focused primarily on collective bargaining objectives and institutional preservation, and concern for professional excellence has been secondary.

I would also point out that it might make sense for unions to actually touch base with associations and begin to learn from them by forming alliances, particularly around issues like professional development. With those associations where membership and interest overlap, it is important for unions to go beyond collective bargaining related to training and what they can get in contracts, and think about how to create a culture that is inviting to new members of the profession who are not in unionized workplaces now but who are very concerned about what their profession has to offer them.

(For more details see the longer paper prepared by Dr. Hurd entitled "Thirst for Knowledge."

Dr. Richard Hurd is Professor and Director of Labor Studies at Cornell University. A leading specialist on trade union administration and strategy, he has been quoted widely in the national print and broadcast media on various labor issues. He also has offered testimony before Congressional Committees and Presidential Commissions. Hurd is co-editor of Organizing to Win (Cornell University ILR Press, 1998) and Restoring the Promise of American Labor Law (ILR Press, 1994). He has published dozens of papers in books and professional journals, among them "Professional Employees and Union Democracy," "Is Organizing Enough? Race, Gender and Union Culture," "Contesting the Dinosaur Image: the Labor Movement's Search for a Future," and "Beyond the Organizing Model." Professor Hurd works closely with labor organizations developing training programs and offering technical assistance on strategic issues including trade union management, organizational change, internal and external organizing, strategic planning, and leadership development. His clients include AFL-CIO Office of the President, AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees, AFT Shanker Institute, New York State United Teachers, AFSCME-CSEA, UNITE, and the American Guild of Musical Artists. An economist by training, Professor Hurd has served as an Economic Policy Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He earned his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.