Women’s History Month

Fighting for equality

Women’s Committee programs focus on “foremothers” in the long struggle to achieve equal rights.

By JANE LaTOUR

Clerical Division Grievance Rep Marilyn Charles kicked off the DC 37 Women’s Committee program March 22 with her poem honoring the exceptional contributions of women such as civil rights activist Dorothy Height, peace activist Dorothy Day, and labor activist Mary “Mother” Jones.

“Magnificent Women,” was true to the evening’s theme, “Women and Labor: Past, Present and Future,” and Ms. Charles concluded her presentation: “It’s never too late to start anew. The glass ceiling is chipping away.” DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts welcomed the gathering and noted that, “Whether it’s our generation or our daughters’ generation — women are doing more.” Committee Vice Chair Vanessa Tirado hosted the event.

DC 37 President Veronica Montgomery-Costa pointed to two persistent burdens that still weigh down women workers: pay inequity and the double day — working a full shift or more for an employer on top of the immense task of raising children, feeding a family and keeping a home together.

Her view is backed up by author Dorothy Sue Cobble in “The Other Women’s Movement: Workplace Justice and Social Rights in America,” includes a 1925 quotation: “The whole question comes down to this: Shall we let women continue working longer hours than men, for less pay than men, and continue doing two jobs to their husbands’ one?” As Ms. Montgomery-Costa noted, “With all the years of struggle, we should be further along.”

Recognition and renewal
Keynoter Sean Sweeney, director of the labor studies program at Cornell, spoke about the need for recognition and renewal. “We owe our female ancestors in the house of labor a debt we’ll never really be able to repay,” he said. “We have to revitalize our labor movement. Unless we recognize the contribution of others, we can’t understand the role we’re playing.”

On March 18, Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549 hosted its second annual Women’s Herstory event, including South African songs and poetry, union songs led by Local 1549’s Unionettes, and Sister Stories, each story celebrating a woman who made a difference in the speaker’s life. Member Judy Hampton spoke about raising three children and sending them to college. “My shero is the woman who then encouraged me to go to college.”

Amalgamated Professional Employees Local 154 celebrated “The Life of Harriet Tubman: A Freedom Fighter,” on March 3. Ms. Tubman’s story is well told in a new biography, “Bound for the Promised Land,” by Kate Clifford Larson.

Executive Board Member Francisca Roberts introduced the film, “A Woman Called Moses” and coordinated the event with Janice Williams. “Harriet Tubman is best known for her leadership in the Underground Railroad, which broke the chains of bondage and led many to freedom,” said Ms. Roberts.

Social Service Employees Union Local 371 hosted a panel on the importance of women’s votes in the current political environment. Carol Pittman, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association, spoke about the history of women’s activism and the importance of learning from it; Staten Island Advance Columnist Stevie Lacy-Pendelton focused on the connection between the long struggles for women’s rights and civil rights; and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum addressed the obstacles that still stand against electing females to public office. “It is tough for us,” she noted.

Local 1549 member Olivia Crum summed up the significance of the month of celebrations. “It’s important for women to be recognized and to show that we have contributed to the community and to the world and that we’re still standing.”