This manual provides members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) with convincing arguments for child care and methods they can use to negotiate for child care, develop community support, convince elected officials to support members' positions, and use the media to publicize the relevant issues. The manual maintains that lack of adequate accessible child care creates hardships for working parents, suffering for children, economic loss for employers, and economic hardship for child care providers. Child care issues can be negotiated by unions or workers in the workplace. This applies both to providers, who may negotiate for increased pay, improved working conditions, and improved health and safety standards; and to employees, who may negotiate for employer involvement in child care. Employers can provide alternative work schedules, referral programs, voucher programs, emergency care, or on-site child care. Improvement in child care can be hastened if community groups work together to express their needs. Public officials can be contacted by individuals or lobbied by organizations. Careful presentations of news information to the print and broadcast media can help bring the message of local child care inadequacy to the community. Appendixes provide instructions for establishing a child care center, lists of various child care resources and contacts, and related materials. (BC)