Women's Trade Union League

Examples of Women's Trade Union League in the following topics:

• AFL and WWI

  • The AFL never adopted a strict policy of gender exclusion and, at times, even came out in favor of women's unionism.
  • But despite such rhetoric, the Federation only half-heartedly supported women's attempts to organize and, more often, took pains to keep women out of unions and the workforce altogether.
  • Women who organized their own unions were often turned down in bids to join the Federation, and even women who did join unions found them hostile or intentionally inaccessible.
  • Through the efforts of middle class reformers and activists, often of the Women's Trade Union League, these unions joined the AFL.
  • Local building trades councils also became powerful in some areas.

• Early Efforts in Urban Reform

  • The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membership, and a key player in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s.
  • That, however, only prompted the rest of the workers to seek help from the union.
  • Approximately 20,000 out of the 32,000 workers in the shirtwaist trade walked out during the next two days.
  • The union also became more involved in electoral politics, in part as a result of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
  • It further radicalized some; at the memorial meeting held in the Metropolitan Opera House on April 2, 1911, Rose Schneiderman addressed an audience largely made up of the well-heeled members of the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) and said the following:

• The New Immigrants on Strike

  • Led by Clara Lemlich and supported by the National Women's Trade Union League of America (NWTUL), the strike began in November 1909.
  • In September 1909, the workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory took a vote to determine whether they would continue to participate in a company-sponsored benevolent association or to organize under the United Hebrew Trades (UHT), an association of Jewish labor unions.
  • In response, the workers at Triangle walked off the job, supported by Local 25 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), which had called for a strike.
  • The strike, which lasted more than two months, was successful, defying the assumptions of conservative trade unions within the AFL that immigrant, female, and ethnically divided workers could not be organized.
  • A January 1910 photograph of a group of women who participated in the shirtwaist strike of 1909.

• Work in Industrial America

  • The AFL never adopted a strict policy of gender exclusion and, at times, even came out in favor of women's unionism.
  • Despite such rhetoric, the Federation only half heartedly supported women's attempts to organize and, more often, took pains to keep women out of unions and the workforce altogether.
  • Only two national unions affiliated with the AFL at its founding openly included women, and others passed bylaws barring women's membership entirely.
  • Women who organized their own unions were often turned down in bids to join the Federation, and even women who did join unions found them hostile or intentionally inaccessible.
  • Through the efforts of middle class reformers and activists, often of the Women's Trade Union League, these unions joined the AFL.

• The Rise of Unions

  • The first local trade unions of men in the United States formed in the late eighteenth century, and women began organizing in the 1820s.
  • The AFL never adopted a strict policy of gender exclusion and, at times, even came out in favor of women's unionism.
  • But despite such rhetoric, the AFL only halfheartedly supported women's attempts to organize and, more often, took pains to keep women out of unions and the workforce altogether.
  • Women who organized their own unions were often turned down in bids to join the federation, and even women who did join unions found them hostile or intentionally inaccessible.
  • Through the efforts of middle-class reformers and activists, often of the Women's Trade Union League, these unions joined the AFL.

• Women's Rights after Suffrage

  • The Women’s Rights Movement made great strides in the 1920s, both in the areas of gender discrimination and women’s health.
  • Originally called the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage, its name changed to the National Women's Party in 1917.
  • Eleanor Roosevelt, an ally of the unions, generally opposed NWP policies because she believed women needed protection, not equality.
  • Alice Paul founded the National Woman's Party in 1913 to promote women's suffrage and greater equal rights for women.
  • Describe the fight for women's rights after the passing of the 19th Amendment

• The Diversity of Workers

  • The AFL never adopted a strict policy of gender exclusion and, at times, even came out in favor of women's unionism.
  • But despite such rhetoric, the Federation only half-heartedly supported women's attempts to organize and, more often, took pains to keep women out of unions and the workforce altogether.
  • Only two national unions affiliated with the AFL at its founding openly included women, and others passed by-laws barring women's membership entirely.
  • In 1900, only 3.3% of working women were organized into unions.
  • These jurisdictional disputes were most frequent in the building trades, where a number of different unions might claim the right to have work assigned to their members.

• Trends in Labor-Management Relations

  • Labor trends include a declining union movement in the US, public sector unions, women leaders, and international unions.
  • Therefore, efforts to mobilize women in unions were considered a poor use of resources.
  • The increased membership of women has also shed light on gender issues, with family issues and other women's concerns gaining more legitimacy in the workplace.
  • There is a relatively new body, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
  • Then there are scores of inter-regional federations, such as the European Trade Union Confederation, the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, and the Organization of African Trade Union Unity.

• Gender and Social Movements

  • The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns on issues pertaining to women, such as reproductive rights and women's suffrage.
  • The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence.
  • It focused on de jure (officially mandated) inequalities, primarily on gaining women's suffrage (the right to vote).
  • Since 1975 the UN has held a series of world conferences on women's issues, starting with the World Conference of the International Women's Year in Mexico City, heralding the United Nations Decade for Women (1975–1985).
  • International Women's Day rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, organized by the National Women Workers Trade Union Centre on 8 March 2005.

• The Feminist Perspective

  • In the United States, 82.5 million women are mothers, while the national average age of first child births is 25.1 years.
  • In 2008, 10% of births were to teenage girls, and 14% were to women ages 35 and older.
  • In the United States, 82.5 million women are mothers of all ages, while the national average age of first child births is 25.1 years.
  • In 2008, 10% of births were to teenage girls, and 14% were to women ages 35 and older.
  • International Women's Day rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, organized by the National Women Workers Trade Union Centre on March 8, 2005.