War on public employee unions is an assault on women [View All]

[Better Believe It]

War on public employee unions is an assault on women
By Glenda Holste
March 7, 2011

In Minnesota, the gender demographics in our public employee unions tell the tale. In Education Minnesota, the union of 70,000 educators, 70 percent of members are women. Of Minnesota Nurses Association members who work in the public sector, 88 percent are women. In Council 5 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, 61 percent of members are women. In the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, 52 percent of members are women. Figures for the Service Employee International Union workers in Minnesota weren’t readily available, but their members are concentrated in health care and other service jobs that traditionally skew toward women.

Nationally, we know, thanks to public workers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that the median wage last year for women working full time who belong to a union was $856 a week while non-union women’s media wage was $639. We also know because of the White House’s new, comprehensive report "Women in America", that in 2009, one-fifth of women workers were employed in just five job categories—secretary, elementary school teacher, registered nurse, nursing aide and cashier.

The suffragist Susan B. Anthony, more a political than economic feminist, did understand that working women’s collective action mattered in the march toward equality. “Join the union, girls,” she said. “Equal pay for equal work.”

Today, the rallying cry is and must remain: “Hold on to the union, girls. Hold on for yourselves, your brothers.” If we do, on the bicentennial of International Women’s Day, the events will celebrate victory over injustice based on gender.

Read the full article at:

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4800