10-1-2005 Organizing Women : The Nature and Process of Union Organizing Efforts Among U . S . Women Workers Since the mid-1990 s

The relationship between American working women and the U.S. labor movement can neither be easily described nor categorized. In part, this is because women’s participation and experience in the labor movement differ so greatly across industry, region, union, occupation, and ethnic background. But mostly, it is a consequence of the inevitable contradictions that arise when the proportion of women in the labor movement continues to grow at an escalating pace, whereas for most unions and labor federations, the proportion of women in top leadership and staff positions has increased incrementally at best, even in unions where women predominate.