Dressed for Success
AFSCME women have the opportunity to use the tools of
the labor movement to secure the American Dream.
By William Lucy
The days when Betty Furness and Betty Crocker were role models and kitchen aprons were women’s work uniforms don’t seem all that long ago. Today, however, we are no longer surprised to see women in business suits, judicial robes, surgical scrubs or law enforcement uniforms. And they are not just dressing the part: They are dressed for success.
As they continue to take their rightful place in the workforce, women are shouldering more and more responsibility for shaping the workplace as workers and managers.
Nowhere is this growing responsibility more evident than in the labor movement. This was brought home to me once again during the Regional Women’s Conference in Cincinnati.
In less than 20 years female membership in American unions has risen from 23 percent to 39 percent. In AFSCME, women have been in the majority for at least the past 10 years. Today women account for 46 percent of the entire workforce.
Reports and polls make clear that women tend to be more receptive to labor’s message than men. Whatever their circumstance — the 32 percent with children still in school, the 20 percent with children under 6, the 30 percent who are single — all realize that union membership strengthens their job security. Sour experience has taught them that they need a voice in the workplace when faced with arbitrary, predatory or discriminatory bosses. And all know the need for on-the-job protection when faced with sexual harassment.
The growing presence of women in the labor movement provides an opportunity for fresh perspectives on time-worn issues like leave policy, worker-management relations and health care. Women decisionmakers are also playing a critical part in helping labor confront the wave of change overtaking our movement.
Employers are abandoning the social contract with workers, forcing individuals to deal head-on with pension planning, health coverage, job training, career management and other seemingly dismaying responsibilities. AFSCME members in the public sector are fighting the privatization of their jobs. Our health care members are beset by the earthquake taking place in their industry. As a union we must develop new mechanisms to help members cope with the economic and political realities of these times.
AFSCME is already carving out a bigger role in job training and professional education. It is offering men and women alike new ways to improve their skills and their chances for advancement, and is even helping some prepare for different occupations. At this point much of this activity is part of negotiated agreements, but odds are that the union itself will play a bigger role in the future.
Increased political activism also is absolutely vital. In fact, the union’s future depends on it. Women, who are already politically active, must help find new ways to encourage members’ political involvement, whether in local, state or national issues or by supporting candidates.
Women’s voices must be heard asking candidates how they stand on issues affecting working households. Women’s voices must be heard asking candidates what importance they give to the security of families. What does the candidate believe is more important: Another few billion for Star Wars or added funds for research on breast cancer? Another tax break for Lockheed Martin or helping a working family pay the bills for college?
Whether as political advocates or union leaders, AFSCME women have the opportunity to use the tools of the labor movement to secure the American Dream for all Americans. Their contributions will surely invigorate and strengthen labor, our nation and our families.
