Summary: The Coalition Of Labor Union Women

The Coalition of Labor Union Women
As stated in the article “Political Socialization…,” the Coalition of Labor Union Women was a feminist union founded in 1974 as a result of the diffusion of feminist consciousness in the labor movement and the mobilization for the Equal Rights Amendment. It was a union formed to promote the unionization of women in the workforce, and wanted to make trade unions more responsive to the needs of organized and unorganized women workers. They later became one of the support groups of the labor federation AFL-CIO.
According to the American Journal of Sociology, there was some tension in an organization trying to bridge labor and feminism. From the labor side, the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) received members,

resources, and leaders. From their feminism side, they received political experience, direction, more members and ideas. The article argues that the CLUW did have a feminist impact on the labor movement, by bringing more women into the labor unions, sometimes even into bargaining processes and leadership positions, and also bringing to light important issues such as child care, sexual harassment, and pay equality.
In the “Coalition of Labor Union Women” from the Labor Studies Journal, Kirk writes that the face of the U.S.

labor movement has changed considerably since CLUW’s founding, and it is often being regarded as having been central to this transformation. An example being that CLUW is why having women’s departments and committees in several major unions is feasible today. According to the article, in 1980, CLUW reached a major milestone when its president, Joyce Miller, because the first woman to sit on the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Another example would be that between 1978 and 2011, women’s share of officer and executive board positions had increased dramatically in several major unions: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees from 3% to 21%; American Federation of Teachers from 25% to 53%; in Service Employees International Union from 15% to 43%; and in Communications Workers of America from 0% to 26%. As far at the CLUW is today, regular members have voting rights and must be union members, and associate members of CLUW do not have voting rights because they are nonunion members. Kirk writes that the “nonvoting status of associate members highlights that CLUW is largely envisioned as a representative labor movement organization rather than as a universal working women’s

organization.”
In the article “Dealing With Diversity…”, Roth writes that the CLUW seemed to have some issues with diversity within the organization. Some were saying that they had fewer Hispanic and Asian members as compared to African American members. There was some tension within the CLUW, and some Hispanic and Asian members thought that maybe this could have been due to the language barrier. Basically the article says that even in an organization that is devoted to diversity, tensions can result from cultural differences. In summary, the CLUW was a union dedicated to promoting women in the workforce and diversity, which ultimately did make a significant impact on the labor movement.