The presence of women in Canadian Unions has grown at an incredible rate over the past decade. The transit industry has reflected this in the number of women who occupy positions as bus operators, mechanics, service personnel, administrative personnel and concessions personnel. This strength in numbers means that women are taking a central role, both in our union, and in the labour movement in general. If you have any suggestions for items or links that you would like to see in this section please contact us.
Campaigns, Organizations and Statistics
Statistics
Canada Daily: Percentage of women aged 45 to 64 who
are unionized
Statistics
Canada Daily: Growth of women in Canadian Unions
(Note:
Some of these resources have hyperlinks while others do not.)
"I
Will Kill Frick"
Emma
Goldman on the attempt by Alexander Berkman to assassinate the
chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company during the 1892 Homestead
Strike.
Amalgamated
Clothing and Textile Workers Union - ACTWU
The
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) was a
ground-breaker in organizing women in the workplace.
Bibliography
of Women's Labor History
From
the Illinois Labor History Society, a booklist of good sources on
this topic. A good beginning for middle school or high school
research.
Brand,
Dionne. 1994. "'We Weren't Allowed to Go Into Factory Work Until
Hitler Started the War': The 1920's and 1940's. In We're Rooted Here
and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's
History, ed Peggy Bristow. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp
171-191.
Bread
and Roses: Lost Histories of a Slogan and a Poem
Jim
Zwick tracks down the origin of the "Bread and Roses"
slogan and James Oppenheim poem to 1911, before the strike at
Lawrence to which the origin of the phrase is usually credited.
Instead the slogan seems to have come from Chicago and from the
Women's Trade Union League.
Connecting
Women with Unions. What are the issues?
Anne Forrest's paper investigates the role of "women’s issues" in the
decision to join unions by examining a successful organizing drive
in a predominantly female workplace. The main focus of the discussion
is the identification of women’s issues where they were
not immediately apparent to workers and union representatives.
De
Angelis, Deborah as told to Jonathon Eaton. 1998. "Wake up,
little Suzy" Our Times, Vol 17; Mar/April 1998.
Dolores
Huerta
Information
on Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union. From
your About Guide to Women's History.
Estable,
Alma and Roxana Ng. 1992. Immigrant Women in the Labour Force: An
overview of present knowledge and research gaps. In Resources for
Feminist Research.
Frances
Willard Meets Elizabeth Rodgers in the 1880s
Frances
Willard on her 1880s meeting with Elizabeth Rodgers, Master Workman
and head of the Knights of Labor large Chicago District No. 24.
Jeffcott,
Bob and Linda Yanz. "Bridging the GAP" Our Times, Feb 1997.
pp 24-28.
Karen
Nussbaum Quotes
Quotations
from Karen Nussbaum, 9to5 organizer and director of the Women's
Bureau of the US Department of Labor under President Clinton.
Kate
Mullaney - Union Maid
Job
Searching Guide Alison Doyle on a less-known but important figure in
women's trade union history. Kate Mullaney organized the first female
union in the United States.
Kirk,
Gwyn and Margo Okazawa-Rey. 1998. "Living in a Global Economy."
In Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. Mountain View, Calif:
Mayfield Publishing. pp 182-192.
Krahn,
Harvey and Graham Lowe. 1998. Work, Industry and Canadian Society.
Scarborough: ITP Nelson
Lucy
Parsons: The Life of an Anarchist Labor Organizer
She
claimed a background as daughter of a Mexican mother and Creek Indian
father. With her husband Albert Parsons, she worked for racial
justice for African Americans as well as for anarchist and labor
causes. Her husband was executed as one of the defendents in the
Haymarket trial, and she continued her work, including helping to
found the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or "Wobblies").
Luxton,
Meg. 1997. "Feminism and Families." In Feminism and
Families: Critical Policies and Changing Practices, ed. Meg Luxton.
Halifax: Fernwood Press. pp 10-26.
Luxton,
Meg. Feminism as a Class Act: Working-Class Feminism and the Women’s
Movement in Canada
Marilyn
Waring. 1988. If Women Counted. San Francisco: Harper and Row
McIvor,
Heather. 1996. "Women in the Canadian Economy" in Women and
Politics in Canada. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview Press. pp 95-126
Outwrite.
1987. "A Question of Tactics: Interview with South African Trade
Union Organiser, Lydia Kompe," in Miranda Davies, ed., Third
World -- Second Sex, Vol 2. London: Zed Books.
Pathfinder:
Women and Labor
Part
of a bibliography from the National Archives on women's history
resources.
Phillips,
Paul and Erin Phillips. 1993. "Women and the Labour Movement."
In Women and Work. Toronto: James Lorimer. pp 114-144
Phongpaichit,
Pasuk. 1990. "Industrialization Strategies and Women's
Employment in Southeast Asia" in Bina Agarwal, ed., Structures
of Patriarchy: The State, the Community and the Household. London:
Zed Books.
Poelzer,
Irene A. 1989. "Metis women and the economy of Northern
Saskatchewan." In Race, Class, Gender: Bonds and Barriers.
Socialist Studies: A Canadian Annual No 5.
Ricciutelli,
Luciana, June Larkin and Eimar O'Neill, eds. 1998. Confronting the
Cuts: A Sourcebook for Women in Ontario. Toronto: Innana
Publications. pp 3-8, 59-61, 198-200.
Sellins,
Fanny
Mine
Workers' Union organizer who was killed in a strike in 1919. This is
a sketch of her life and contributions, short but worth the reading.
Silvera,
Makeda. 1993. "Speaking of Women's Lives and Imperialist
Economics: Two Introductions from Silenced," in Himani Bannerji,
ed., Returning the Gaze: Essays on Racism, Feminism and Politics.
Toronto: Sister Vision Press.
Vaughn,
Jacqueline B.
A
short page honoring the late President of the Chicago Teacher's
Union. A woman worth knowing!
Warskett,
Rosemary.
Thinking
Through Labour’s Organizing Strategies: What the Data Reveal
and What the Data Conceal.
Warskett,
Rosemary.
FEMINISM’S
CHALLENGE TO UNIONS & FEMINISM IN THE NORTH: POSSIBILITIES AND
CONTRADICTIONS.
White,
Julie. 1993. Sisters in Solidarity. Toronto: Thompson
Educational Press.
Women
and Labor - Early America
From
the late colonial period through the American Revolution, women's
work usually centered on the home, but romanticizing this role as the
Domestic Sphere came in the early 19th century.
Women
and Unions - Early Efforts - Lowell Mill Girls
Organizer
America's
first working women's association to press for better working
conditions and pay -- in other words, a union -- was organized in
1844, and Sarah Bagley was the first President.
Women
and Unions - Late 19th Century Labor Organizing
by and for Women
In
the late 19th century, a growing number of groups organized to work
for higher wages and better working conditions for women workers.
Women
and Unions - Women's Trade Union League Comes
of Age
The
WTUL participated in major strikes and many of the same individuals
helped organize the NAACP.
Women
and Unions: Women's Trade Union League
An
overview of the Women's Trade Union League - WTUL - and its role in
the labor movement and women's history.
Women
and Unions: Women's Trade Union League: Beginnings
The
early history of the American organization, the Women's Trade Union
League, and a mention of the British predecessor.
Women
and Unions: Women's Trade Union League: World
War I - 1950
After
World War I, with increasing opportunities for women at work, the
WTUL changed its focus and evolved. Learn about the WTUL's role in
the Depression, its connection with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and
its final end in 1950.
Women
in Labor Unions
"We
are starving while we work; we might as well starve while we strike!"
-- 1909 Garment Workers' Strike Banner. An outline of the history of
women in labor unions, with profiles of Sarah Bagley, Rose
Schneiderman, Leonora O'Reilly, Caroline Gleason (Sister Miriam
Theresa) and Elinore Morehouse Herrick. By Juliet H. Mofford for
Women's History Magazine.
Women
of ALESDA (Domestic Service Union). 1987. "A Statement by
Domestic Workers in Uruguay" in Miranda Davies, ed., Third World
-- Second Sex, Vol 2. London: Zed Books.
Women
of the WTUL - Women's Trade Union League - Women
and Unions
For
women working in labor reform and in the trade union movement, the
WTUL provided a community of personal friendship and support as well
as an effective organization. A few of the women of the WTUL are
listed here.
Women's
Trade Union League
From
1903-1950, this organization fought for working women's wages, job
safety, education, and for racial and sexual integration.
Working
Women's History Project - Chicago
A
project with a few online articles documenting the history of working
women in Chicago.
Yalnizyan,
Armine. 1998. The Growing Gap. Toronto: Centre for Social Justice.
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