Who Will Fight for Us? Union Designated Women’s Advocates in Auto Manufacturing Workplaces
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/1705-1436.42Abstract
Women’s employment in traditionally male manufacturing jobs is hindered by both formal and informal structures (Levine 2009). In light of recent recession-based changes in the Ontario economy, it is becoming more important for women to maintain well-paying manufacturing employment. Women face different challenges in the home and workplace than men. This paper investigates the Canadian Auto Workers’ (CAW) Union’s unique women’s advocacy program, as a promising mechanism to secure women’s safety at home and at work, while protecting their employment status. Drawing on ethnographic research with women auto workers and union women, our findings suggest that the CAW’s women’s advocacy program is innovative and beneficial in maintaining women’s employment as they attend to personal problems. This program can be extended throughout other locals and unions to assist women dealing with violence and other issues related to work-life experience.
References
Acemoglu, D. 2001. “Good Jobs versus Bad Jobs.” Journal of Labour Economics. Vol. 19, No. 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/209978
Arber, S. and Ginn, J. 1995. “The Mirage of Gender Equality: OccupationalSuccess in the Labour Market and within Marriage.” The British Journal ofSociology. Vol. 46, No. 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/591621
Armstrong, P. 1984. Labour Pains: Women’s Work in Crisis. Toronto, Ontario: The Women’s Educational Press.
Armstrong, P. and Armstrong, H. 1978. The Double Ghetto: Canadian Women and Their Segregated Work. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart Limited.
Bernard, A. 2009. “Trends in Manufacturing Employment.” Statistics Canada.(http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/2009102/article/10788-eng.htm).
Blau, F. D., Ferber, M. A., Winkler, A. E. 2002. The Economics of Women, Men andWork: 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Boserup, E. 2007. Woman’s Role in Economic Development. London, U.K.:Earthscan.
Briskin, L. 2006. “Victimization and Agency: The Social Construction of UnionWomen’s Leadership.” Industrial Relations Journal. Vol. 37, No. 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2338.2006.00409.x
Browne, A., Salomon, A. and Bassuk, S. S. 1999. “The Impact of Recent PartnerViolence on Poor Women’s Capacity to Maintain Work.” Violence AgainstWomen. Vol. 5, No. 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10778019922181284
Campbell, J. 2007. Assessing Dangerousness: Violence by Batterers and Child Abusers. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
CAW. 2000. “CAW Submission to the Canadian Human Rights Act ReviewPanel.” (http://www.caw.ca/en/services-departments-human-rights-cawsubmission-to-the-canadian-human-rights-act-review-panel-2000.htm),Accessed April 29, 2009.
CAW 2002. “Frequently Asked Questions.”(http://www.caw.ca/en/campaigns-issues-past-campaigns-issuesfrequently-asked-questions.htm) Accessed July 9, 2009.
Fang T. and Verma A. 2002. “Union Wage Premium.” Perspectives on Labourand Income. Vol. 3, No. 9.
Fine, B. 1992. Women’s Employment and the Capitalist Family: Towards a PoliticalEconomy of Gender and Labour Markets. London, U.K., Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203308615
Gunderson M. and Hyatt D. 2001. “Workplace Risks and Wages: CanadianEvidence from Alternative Models.” The Canadian Journal of Economics.Vol. 34, No. 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/0008-4085.00079
Hartmann, H. 1979. “Capitalism, Patriarchy and Job Segregation by Sex.” In Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism, edited by Zillah R. Eisenstein. New York, NY: Monthly Review Press.
Joshi, H., Davies, H., and Land, H. 1996. The Tale of Mrs. Typical. London, UK: Family Policy Studies Centre.
Leach B. and C. Yates 2006. “Why good jobs lead to social exclusion”. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 27(3) 341-368. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X06065960
Leach B. and C. Yates 2008. Gendering social cohesion”. In: R. O’Brien (ed)Solidarity First: Canadian Workers and Social Cohesion. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Levine, J. A. 2009. “It’s A Man’s Job, or so They Say: The Maintenance of Sex Segregation in a Manufacturing Plant.” The Sociological Quarterly. Vol. 50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2009.01140.x
Lewis, S. 2001. “Restructuring Workplace Cultures: The Ultimate Work-Family Challenge?” Women in Management Review. Vol. 16, No. 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420110380256
Morgan, P. 2000. “Sexual Harassment: Violence Against Women at Work.” In Sourcebook on Violence Against Women, edited by Claire M. Rezetti, Jeffrey L Edleson, and Raquel Kennedy Bergen, 209-222. Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Punnett, L., Gold, J., Katz, J.N., Gore, R., and Wegman, D.H. “Ergonomic Stressors and Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders in Automobile Manufacturing: A One Year Follow Up Study”. Occupational Environmental Medicine. Vol. 61, No. 8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2003.008979
Richardson, D. 2009. “The Impact of the Recession on Women.” The Australian Institute. Institute Paper No. 3. ISSN 1836-8948.
Rosenfeld, H. 2009. “The North American Auto Industry in Crisis.” Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine. Vol. 61 No. 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14452/MR-061-02-2009-06_2
Shalev, M. 2008. “Class Divisions Among Women.” Politics and Society. Vol. 36, No. 3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329208320570
Stanford, Jim. 2009. “Finger Pointing and the Political Economy of Industrial Policy: Auto Industry Fact and Fiction”. Available at http://www.caw.ca/en/5437.htm
Statistics Canada. 2006. “2006 Canadian Census: Industry.” (http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable). Accessed 4/23/08.Sugiman, P. 1994. Labour’s Dilemma: The Gender Politics of Auto Workers in Canada, 1937-1979. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press.
Vosko, L, F. 2007. “Gendered Labour Market Insecurities: Manifestations of Precarious Employment in Different Locations.” In Work in Tumultuous Times: Critical Perspectives, edited by Vivian Shalla and Wallace Clement, 52-97. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Woodhall, J. R. 2009. The People Behind Your Morning Fix: Exploring Alienation in Corporate Franchise and Co-operative Coffee Shop Workers. M.A. Thesis, University of Guelph.
Yates, C. 2006. “Challenging Misconceptions about Organizing Women into Unions”. Gender, Work & Organization. Vol 13 No. 6, 565-584. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2006.00323.x
Yates, C. and B. Leach, 2007. “Industrial Work in a Post-Industrial Age.” In Workin Tumultuous Times: Critical Perspectives, edited by Vivian Shalla and Wallace Clement, 163-191. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 2010-03-01 (2)
- (1)
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All reproduction, electronic or otherwise, of the material from Just Labour: A Canadian Journal of Work and Society, is allowable free of charge for education purposes.
The content of the reproduced material must not be altered in any way. Institutions and organizations must notify the Centre for Research on Work and Society (CRWS) of their intention to reproduce, distribute and/or require monetary compensation for Just Labour material.
Any monetary compensation derived from the sale of Just Labour material must not exceed the minimum recovery cost of reproduction.
The Centre for Research on Work and Society reserves the right to review this policy at any time with no retroactive consequences for institutions and individuals who have received permission to reproduce material.
