Feminist/Unionist

Feminist and Unionist.
I am both of these things and I have been exploring the intersectionality of the two since the beginning of the internship. For example, when we speak with labor historians, I like to ask where the women were because, as a feminist, it is my job to uncover the voices of those oft forgotten in the struggle.

I have tried to find resources that lift up the voices of women in the labor movement this summer. These stories have been inspiring and show the true spirit of the movement.

Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors and her first book is a true story, a work of non-fiction, called Holding The Line: Women In The Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983. My father grew up in Arizona and he remembers the strike in and around the Morenci Phelps Dodge mines. Kingsolver highlights the women who stretched the dollar to make strike wages last, women who worked in the mines alongside their husbands, and especially the women who did not back down and held the line in the strike that lasted for many years. In the quest for better wages, equal employment, a safe workplace, and dignity, the women in the Morenci strike embody why it is so important to stand with the union.

Another intersection of feminism and unionism that I love is a song I heard last year at an Ani DiFranco concert. I already played it for my fellow interns but now I will share it with you! It's an updated version of "Which Side Are You On?" originally written by Florence Reese, a wife of a miner.



The labor movement is filled with all kinds of people from every kind of background. During a panel with Union Summer alumni, one alum noted that working in the labor movement made a lot of sense because of the number and diversity of people who work..."Everybody works," she said. It's true. In just a short amount of time working for the AFL-CIO, I have seen "UNION YES" stickers on all kinds of cars and shaken the hands of workers from many different industries. The thing that brings people together is the solidarity and power a union brings.