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Vol. 5, No. 8
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Sepember 2018
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Chicago CLUW and #MeToo
by Helen Ramirez-Odell
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| Katie Jordan, President of the Coalition of Labor Union Women Chicago Chapter |
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#MeToo is a movement against sexual harassment and assault. It encourages women to speak up about their experiences to show the magnitude of the problem. The Chicago Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women has been working to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Chicago CLUW President Katie Jordan reported that CLUW members have been doing a lot of organizing on this problem as a local issue and as part of national CLUW's goal to end harassment and assault.
CLUW is working with Jaquie Algee in SEIU and Workers United in Chicago to make workplaces safer. They have called legislators, phone banked and participated in rallies. They have worked with Citizen Action, the Illinois Alliance of Retired Americans, and other groups to urge them to become part of the coalition to stop sexual harassment. They celebrated Unite Here Local 1's recent victory getting the "Hands Off Pants On" law passed which requires Chicago hotels to provide housekeepers who work alone with panic buttons and to implement anti-sexual harassment policies.
Katie Jordan said CLUW not only educates its members but also urges them to talk to their families, neighbors and friends about this pervasive problem. "Our union folks need education on sexual harassment to prevent it and deal with it....so do legislators and those who run for public office," she said.
She noted that sexual harassment was not even in the vocabulary until after the civil rights movement. Women in the labor movement, especially CLUW members in the trades, fought hard to stop physical assaults and abuse as well as harassment by bosses and co-workers on the job. Katie said nothing was accomplished without a fight, and once progress was made, "we have to stay on their behinds."
Sexual harassment was an issue discussed at the recent A. Phillip Randolph Institute conference, and stopping it is a goal of the Chicago Federation of Labor where Katie Jordan has served on the board. She said CLUW will continue to work to increase CLUW membership and obtain the support of union men as well as women to stop sexual harassment.
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How Sexual Harassment Got Its Name
by Grace Weber
 As a young feminist, I was not around for the days when sexual harassment had no name.
Recently, I attended a Board meeting with the Working Women
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s History Project where fellow Board members shared their experiences with sexual harassment before
it was even given a name.
While the practice of sexually harassing women dates back to the start of patriarchy, it wasn
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t always recognized. I
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m fortunate enough to have grown up in a time when sexual harassment was labeled as a problem. It was quite eye-opening to hear tales of what day-to-day life was like
without recognition of the epidemic.
However, it
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s been quite recent since sexual harassment was given a name, therefore legitimizing it as an issue. Journalist Lin Farley pioneered the term back in the 70's. By coining the phrase, Farley, along with other feminists, changed the national discussion forever.
The terminology made its first debut in 1975 when Farley testified before the Commission of Human Rights of New York City regarding her work at Cornell University. She told the panel that,
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Sexual harassment of women in their place of employment is extremely widespread.
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In addition, Farley shared the results from a questionnaire she handed out to women at a campus event. Of the 155 respondents, 70% had experienced sexual harassment, and 92% of the women labeled it as a
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serious problem.
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Farley recently wrote in the New York Times that coining the term brought women together, a parallel to #MeToo
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s effect on survivors:
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The solidarity that women felt for one another was contagious; sisterhood in the workplace suddenly seemed doable.
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I
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m very fortunate to have been born after Lin Farley shifted the national dialogue on sexual
harassment. However, with the rise of #MeToo, it is very apparent that we are nowhere near the
end of the fight.
To read more click on:
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Chicago Bowls Another Strike
by Jess Kozik
 Chicago is a city filled to the brim with attractions bringing in tourists from all over the world. Tourism in Chicago hit a record high last year with 55 million visitors recorded, leaving Chicago hotels to make over 2 billion dollars.
It seems like a good time for the hotel business, unless you actually work there. As of now, workers from 26 hotels whose contracts ended in August are on strike demanding year-round healthcare coverage, and therefore reminding us that Chicago is not only a city filled with enticing attractions, but also
with a long history of fighting for workers' rights.
The 26 hotels that have workers on strike include The Drake, Hyatt Regency, JW Marriott, and Palmer House Hilton. The strike started up several days after Labor Day, a day that got its start because of another strike in Chicago. In 1894, workers at Pullman Company went on strike after their wages were cut but their rent for company housing stayed the same. Other railroad workers started boycotting Pullman cars. The strike and boycott grew to involve thousands of people eventually leading to government interference to put an end to it. Riots grew after troops got involved leading to multiple worker deaths. In an attempt to help repair ties with the working class, President Grover Cleveland and Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday.
The faint smell of irony was in the air as the strike began shortly after Labor Day, conveying that workers need more than a simple day of acknowledgement to be satisfied.
Workers have brought to light a lot of the harsh realities of hotel work. In a video posted by UNITE HERE, the hospitality workers union, Q, a house attendant states she "take[s] painkillers everyday." Another worker goes on to talk about how some workers can lose their job in winter months when it slows down and lose their benefits along with it. Elliot Mallen, a spokesman for UNITE HERE, reiterates that "We have a problem in Chicago where, when it's slow in the winter and hotel workers are laid off, they can see their health insurance cut off. It's a big problem for hotel workers and their families that need to take kids to the doctor in the wintertime. It's not their fault the hotels slow down in the winter." Workers shouldn't have to live in a state of uncertainty in terms of health coverage.
They also shouldn't have to deal with sexual harassment. UNITE HERE Local 1 was involved in the passing of an ordinance, requiring Chicago hotels to provide panic buttons to all hotel workers who clean, restock, or take inventory alone in guest rooms and rest rooms after its survey found widespread sexual harassment in the hotel and casino industry. The passing of that ordinance, which took effect on July 1, 2018, is an example of how union activism can make an important difference in workers' lives. Hopefully, the current strike will end in another win when it results in year-round healthcare coverage for the workers who are demanding it. Union activists are depending on it.
Since Jess Kozik wrote her article, Unite Here Local 1 has ratified a contract with the following hotels: Sheraton, W City Center, W Lakeshore, Westin Michigan Avenue, Westin River North, JW Marriott, and Hotel Blake. For a list of the hotels still on strike, go to:
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Meet Grace Weber, Our Newest Board Member
 In August 2018 Grace Weber was elected to Working Women's History Project's board by a unanimous vote. She has been an active feminist since the age of 14. Grace said that the precipitating event that led to her involvement with women's issues was her mother leaving her abusive father, and that feminism was a way to turn a negative experience into something positive. While a senior in high school, Grace started a NOW chapter there after having worked on fundraisers for women's shelters. Some of the women who have inspired her include Kathleen Hanna, Gloria Steinem, Simone de Beauvoir and Gloria Allred. Grace is currently a first year student at DePaul University, and is enrolled in the Women's and Gender Studies Department with a pre-law concentration. She hopes to someday use her skills to help ensure that women and girls have a larger voice in court.
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55 years ago this September, 4 African American girls, Addie Mae Collins (April 18, 1949- September 15, 1963), Carole Rosamond Robertson, (April 22, 1949-September 15, 1963) and Denise McNair (Nov. 17, 1951-September 15, 1963) were killed by a bomb planted by the KKK at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Without action by Congress, the Violence Against Women Act
will expire after September 30, 2018.
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