Collective bargaining and private sector professionals

Although unionization rates among professionals are now higher than among nonprofessionals - 26.8% compared to 17.8% in 1988 - the rise in organization among government workers accounts for almost all of the former's growth. However, the influence of government unionization is falling because of declining public sector unionization rates and slower government job growth. Associations representing professionals such as attorneys and physicians, while not considered unions, are more powerful than unions in determining compensation. Engineers and scientists have attained little organized power because of the specialization and fragmentation of their professions. While nurses have made steps toward consolidating their profession, several obstacles impede what would normally be fertile organizing ground. Despite the fact that public approval of unions has increased during the last decade, the absence of more activist union leadership is causing members of professional organizations to depend on individual efforts to advance their interests for the near future.