Making Feminist Politics: Transnational Alliances Between Women and Labor

193 Pages·2011·1.13 MB·English

by  Suzanne Franzway

MAKING FEMINIST POLITICS
Transnational Alliances
between Women and Labor
Suzanne Franzway &
Mary Margaret Fonow
Making Feminist Politics

Making
Feminist Politics
Transnational Alliances
between Women and Labor
Suzanne Franzway and
Mary Margaret Fonow
UniversiTy oF iLLinois Press
Urbana, Chicago, and springfield
© 2011 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Franzway, Suzanne.
Making feminist politics: transnational alliances between women
and labor / Suzanne Franzway and Mary Margaret Fonow.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-252-03596-8 (hardcover: alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-252-03596-8 (hardcover: alk. paper)
isbn-13: 978-0-252-07792-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-252-07792-x (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Women in the labor movement.
2. Feminism—International cooperation.
I. Fonow, Mary Margaret, 1949– II. Title.
hd6079.f73 2011
331.88082—dc22 2010042433
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations ix
1. Feminist Politics and Transnational Labor Movements 1
2. Sexual Politics, Activism, and Everyday Life 24
3. Sexual Politics, Labor, and the Family 47
4. Political Spaces: Centers, Conferences, and Campaigns 67
5. Feminist Politics in International Labor 87
6. Women’s Activism in the International
Metalworkers’ Federation 108
7. Another World Is Possible for Women, If . . . 125
8. Conclusion: The Future of Feminist Politics
in Global Union Movements 139
Notes 147
References 153
Index 177

Acknowledgments
Duets are not uncommon in publishing, but they are perhaps rarely
as beneficial as they have been to both of us during the process of writing
this book. With one of us in the United States (Fonow) and one in Australia
(Franzway), we have found that the need to interpret our different perspec-
tives (sometimes even language) and geographical standpoints has often
led us to new questions and, we hope, useful insights. This would have been
much less possible if we had not been able to communicate regularly both
physically and virtually. Our universities, Arizona State University and Uni-
versity of South Australia, have contributed to this through grants for travel,
sabbaticals, and Internet technology.
We have been inspired and informed by networks of activists and schol-
ars; formal groups include UNESCO Women’s and Gender Studies Research
Network, Working Women’s Centre (South Australia), SAUnions Women’s
Standing Committee, Women in Male Dominated Occupations and Indus-
tries (WIMDOI), Research Centre for Gender Studies at University of South
Australia, International Metalworkers’ Federation, International Labour Orga-
nization, Global Union Research Network (GURN), Institute for Policy Stud-
ies, International Institute of Social History, World Social Forum/s, Interna-
tional Sociological Association’s Research Committee 44 (Labor Movements),
American Sociological Association (Labor and Labor Movements, and Sex
and Gender Sections); informal groups include union feminists in Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
We would also like to thank individuals who have contributed to our work
in numerous ways: Max Adlum, Eileen Boris, Linda Briskin, Chilla Bulbeck,
viii . acknowledgments
Dorothy Sue Cobble, Raewyn Connell, Sandra Dann, Michelle Hogan, Jenny
Holdcroft, Stanlie James, Sally Kitch, Sue Ledwith, Valentine Moghadam,
Kathie Muir, Barbara Pocock, Elisabeth Porter, Louise Portway, Leila Rupp,
Rhonda Sharp, Verta Taylor, Claire Williams, and Ara Wilson. We have been
supported by the great skills of research assistants and copyeditors: Valerie
Adams, Debjani Chakravarty, Eva Lester, Rosalee Gonzalez, Yue Ma, Virginia
Mapedzhama, Kate Leeson, and Sue Breckenridge. In particular, we wish to
thank our editor at the University of Illinois Press, Laure Matheson, for her
generosity and persistence is bringing this book into being. We have also
received expert help from Jane Little, senior coordinator in the School of
Social Transformation at Arizona State University.
We thank our dear ones for their encouragement, their good humor es-
pecially over our absences in the name of the book, and their care. Suzanne
wants to thank especially Neil, Sam, and Mele, as well as Charlie, who appeared
during the project. Mary Margaret thanks her dear partner, Corinne Dillon.
Finally and importantly, our thanks go to those women who agreed to
be interviewed and whom we cannot thank directly, as well as to the many
union feminists who are working to make feminist politics every day. We
are not the only people who owe them an enormous debt.
Any errors or flaws are our responsibility.
Abbreviations
ACTU: Australian Council of Trade Unions
AFL-CIO: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations
AFM: Articulación Feminista Marcosur
AMWU: Australian Manufacturers Workers Union
CEDAW: The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women
CLC: Canadian Labour Congress
COSATU: Congress of South African Trade Unions
DAWN: Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era
FIOM-CGI: Federazione Impiegati Operai Metallurgici
GUF: Global Union Federation
ICFTU: The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
ILO: International Labor Organization
IMF: International Monetary Fund
ITUC: International Trade Union Confederation
JTUC: Japanese Trade Union Confederation.
LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
OECD: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
UN: United Nations
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization
WICEJ: Women’s International Coalition for Economic Justice
WMW: World March of Women
WSF: World Social Forum