Rethinking Troubled Relations between Women and Unions: Craft Unionism and Female Activism

Cobble, Dorothy Sue

doi:10.2307/3178018

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Nevertheless, disappointment and disillusionment with unionism are a common enough theme among activists as well as in the literature (Briskin 1983;Cobble 1990Cobble , 1993Cockburn 1991). In addition to the intransigent opposition of men unionists towards women workers, a significant frustration for the women officials (as well as for men) is the frequency of internal union disunity usually defined as factional conflict.…”

Section: Opportunities and Obstaclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women Working in a Greedy Institution: Commitment and Emotional Labour in the Union Movement

Franzway

2000

Gender Work & Organization

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This paper seeks to move beyond the restrictions of limited representations of women's participation in the union movement. Through a focus on the union movement as a 'greedy institution', it is argued that women's union involvement requires complex and dynamic negotiations with its gendered discourses and practices. As a greedy institution, the union movement demands considerable depth of commitment and loyalty, as well as high levels of work and emotional labour. Based on a study of a network of women union officials, this paper discusses the ways women interpret three main aspects of trade union work: commitment, workload and emotional labour. I argue that the strategies the women officials employ do not remain static within a limited frame of gender difference from men. Rather, they must engage with the effects of male dominance of the union movement as well as the difficulties associated with union activism, family, service to members, leadership, and care in order to take up the political opportunities available in this greedy institution.

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Section: Opportunities and Obstaclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women Working in a Greedy Institution: Commitment and Emotional Labour in the Union Movement

Franzway

2000

Gender Work & Organization

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“…Psychologists argue that women view unions as a "male thing," involving characteristics that are inherently male (Cunnison and Stageman, 1993). Bargaining is aggressive and boasts a hostile environment that is unattractive to women (Cobble, 1990). There seems to be a "male culture" associated with unions, characterized by complicated procedures, sexist language, and jargon which is unappealing to women and further discourages their participation (Trebilcock, 1991).…”

Section: Barriers To Participation For Women and Nonwhites And Rementioning

confidence: 99%

Union wage premiums by gender and race: Evidence from PSID 1980–1992

Wunnava

Peled

1999

J Labor Res

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“…1 Within the separate organizing literature, shaped by the work of Briskin (1993Briskin ( , 1999, Colgan and Ledwith (2002), Kirton (2006) and Parker (2003), lie the historical accounts, most notably by Cobble (1990Cobble ( , 1991; see also Brigden, 2011). More recently, Broadbent and Ford (2008: 6) have identified the limited literature on the historical industrial and political strategies of women's unions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Tracing and Placing Women Trade Union Leaders: A Study of the Female Confectioners Union

Brigden

2012

Journal of Industrial Relations

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Studies of union leadership commonly examine full-time officials and workplace delegates. Less attention has been given to those union activists who hold honorary elected roles, on executive or management committees and as office bearers. Women can actively access these positions as a strategy of separate organizing for increasing women's participation, representation and voice in their union. Separate organizing in the form of a women's union creates a broader canvas for women workers' collective activity. Addressing a gap both in the historical literature on women's union strategies and the contribution of honorary officials, this analysis focuses on the rank-and-file women who emerged as the core leadership group in the Australian women-only union, the Female Confectioners' Union, in the 1920s. By drawing together analysis of archival records with genealogical sources, the women's biographical profiles were created and, through the use of thematic analysis, insights were gained into the intersections of the individual women's industrial and political activism and their domestic experiences. For the next 20 or more years, these women formed the backbone of the union (until an amalgamation with the men's union in the confectionery trade in 1945) and were instrumental in shaping female collectivism.

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Rethinking Troubled Relations between Women and Unions: Craft Unionism and Female Activism

Cited by 25 publications

References 0 publications

Women Working in a Greedy Institution: Commitment and Emotional Labour in the Union Movement

Women Working in a Greedy Institution: Commitment and Emotional Labour in the Union Movement

Union wage premiums by gender and race: Evidence from PSID 1980–1992

Tracing and Placing Women Trade Union Leaders: A Study of the Female Confectioners Union

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