A couple of weeks ago, the U.S. went over the “childcare cliff” as billions of dollars of pandemic-era federal funding for childcare expired. But childcare providers have been struggling since well before the pandemic, with rising costs and little recourse but to raise their own prices. The chain reaction now for providers, children, and parents could mean a large decrease in women in the workforce and lower wages for workers. Fast Company staff writer Pavithra Mohan explains why the childcare industry has been so difficult to unionize, and what new efforts are starting to emerge.