When I have colleagues that have children, I would expect our union to negotiate for parental leave policies. I might expect some minor amount of support to go

When I have colleagues that have children, I would expect our union to negotiate for parental leave policies. I might expect some minor amount of support to go towards encouraging local politicians to advance that item, but it should be little more than an endorsement of the idea. When I have colleagues who suffer from diabetes, I would expect our union to ensure excellent health care is provided as part of the contract. I would not expect our union to try to involve itself in something drastically removed from its core competency like how research is managed and pharmaceuticals are regulated. I would certainly not want our union to expend resources on the matter - there are guaranteed to be more substantive matters closer to home that would benefit from those same resources. You're absolutely right. A union can, should, and must represent a rebalancing of power. It's just perhaps possible that it's not appropriate for this rebalancing to extend into every possible sphere. This is doubly true in a context of limited resources.