Representation And Leadership Roles: Women Officials In Local Unions

Abstract

In recent years, observers of the American labor movement have suggested that labor is undergoing a process of feminization. Although women are increasingly present in national and international labor organizations, unions do not generally collect data on women in local union leadership. By studying union women at the local rather than the national level, however, the focus is on the level that most directly affects womens lives. In order to gain current information on the experiences of women in local unions today and their prospects for leadership, the Labor-Management Center of the University of Louisville conducted a survey of local union officials throughout Kentucky and neighboring states.