The impact of collective bargaining on schools of allied health: the role of the academic department head.

This article discusses the spreading phenomenon of unionization of academic faculties in the United States and the positive and negative effects of the collective bargaining process on academia. Clarification of the obligations of the employee, stability during contract periods, and standardization of the supervisory and grievance processes are some of the benefits cited. The potential for increased adversarial relationships between administration and faculty, limitations on rewarding meritorious service, and the need for administrators to maintain "paper trails" are among the negative results discussed. Specific impacts on allied health programs, the ambivalent role of the department chairperson in a unionized situation, and the role conflicts experienced by the professional/faculty member/union member are emphasized. A model is presented to compare the administration of allied health education in the presence of a union with a similar, nonunionized situation.