Union women unite in Detroit

The 600 union members gathered Friday for a national convention in downtown Detroit were buzzing about the nomination of John Roberts to be the chief justice of the Supreme Court - because of his positions on issues such as reproductive rights and pay equity for women.

At the plenary session at the Marriott Renaissance Center, speakers talked about cervical cancer and contraceptive equity. And among the topics for that afternoon’s workshops : A Man is not a Financial Plan, Personal Safety Tips, Aging Smarter and Less Painfully (focus on arthritis), and Globalization and Its Impact on Women Workers.

These are not the topics one would generally expect to find on the agenda of most union conventions. Nor would one expect to find so many women and so few men.

That’s because this was a gathering of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, a nationwide organization of union workers that focuses primarily on issues relevant to working women. The mostly female attendees represent about 65 unions from across the country.

"We just view issues differently from men," said Kathy Black, a delegate from Philadelphia. "Our purpose is to promote issues that get no attention from men and in fact ones that men are too embarrassed to talk about, like cervical cancer."

Verlene Jones, a delegate from Seattle, where she works as lead organizer for the AFL-CIO central labor council, said CLUW exists to "make sure women’s issues are at the top of the agenda at unions that don’t always reflect diversity.

"The labor movement was put together to protect white males," she said. "CLUW exists to make sure women have a voice."

When the coalition was formed in 1974, women were invisible in management ranks and boardrooms. They consistently were paid less than men for the same work and were in danger of losing their jobs if they took time to have a baby. "We saw a need for an organization that would speak to the women’s movement about labor issues and to the union leaders about women’s issues," said Susan Holleran, a retired journalist for AFSCME magazine, who was at the original convention in 1974 that drew 3,200 union members to Chicago.

Research shows that jobs traditionally held by women are prime targets for organizing efforts and that women are more likely than men to join unions.

"When CLUW (pronounced "clue") was first formed, it was about access to our union," said Nancy Wohlforth, who is secretary-treasurer, Office and Professional Employees International Union in Washington, D.C., and co-president of Pride at Work, one of five recognized minority constituency groups within the AFL-CIO. Pride at Work represents gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers.

Wohlforth was the pride of the CLUW convention, having recently been elected to the executive council of the AFL-CIO, one of a handful of women at the top of the organization.

Asked if there isn’t a certain amount of irony in women and minorities having to organize and fight for recognition in their own unions, Wohlforth acknowledged, "I have anger with it."

But, she added : "I feel the way to change that is to be controversial and confrontational. You have to show up for everything and be a good trade unionist so they can’t ignore you.

"We’re made up of people from many unions, which makes us stronger."

For Maggie Cook, a convention delegate from Los Angeles, the top three issues are : "organizing, organizing, organizing."

A 31-year member of the Transportation Communication Union, Cook has been a member of CLUW for 17 years.

"The future of organized labor is women and young people," she said.

http://www.billingsgazette.com/inde...