Feminizing Unions: Challenging the Gendered Structure of Wage Labor

Abstract

Fundamental then, to a feminist approach to labour law, is challenging the assumption that unions represent the interests of [all] the workers."). 4. See supra notes 1, 3. These writers apparently believe that this transformation and "degenderization" process will be performed primarily by feminist scholars. Their work is consequently vulnerable to the criticism, advanced by critical race theorists, that their version of feminism is essentialist in nature: those engaged in feminist discourse and scholarship are primarily white, college-educated, middle-and upper-class women who focus solely on gender as a system of power relations while ignoring other critical aspects of identity such as race, ethnicity, and class.

Gender and Union Organizing

“…Male organizers were more likely than female or SEIU organizers to perceive male workers as more interested than women in pensions (39%, as compared with 16% of female organizers and 14% of SEIU organizers), spousal and family benefits flowing to the family through the wage earner, such as medical insurance (24%, as compared with 8% of female organizers and 0% of SEIU organizers), and job security (24%, as compared with 8% of women and 8% of SEIU organizers) (Table 1, Questions 6-8). These perceptions, which have been documented in prior research (Crain 1991;Lynn and Brister 1989), are consistent with assumptions about women as secondary earners (discussed above). Given the organizers' description of the majority of female target workers as single, head-of-household earners, these perceptions are most likely attributable to gender-biased stereotypes; certain issues are viewed as of interest mainly to primary earn-ers with permanent attachment to the labor force, and female workers are persistently viewed as falling outside that category (Schur and Kruse 1992;Crain 1991).…”

“…These perceptions, which have been documented in prior research (Crain 1991;Lynn and Brister 1989), are consistent with assumptions about women as secondary earners (discussed above). Given the organizers' description of the majority of female target workers as single, head-of-household earners, these perceptions are most likely attributable to gender-biased stereotypes; certain issues are viewed as of interest mainly to primary earn-ers with permanent attachment to the labor force, and female workers are persistently viewed as falling outside that category (Schur and Kruse 1992;Crain 1991).…”

Imaginar lo (im)posible. Aportes feministas-sindicales para repensar el Derecho del Trabajo post COVID-19

“…De tal forma, ubicamos nuestro análisis en la constelación de laboralistas feministas que ven en la acción colectiva vinculada al trabajo un enorme potencial para impulsar cambios vigorosos en nuestras sociedades (Buonocore Porter, 2014;Crain, 1991;1992;Crain y Matheny, 2014;Lester, 1991). Reivindicamos el lugar privilegiado que poseen los sindicatos para dar sentido a la democracia, como un complemento necesario de los esquemas clásicos de deliberación política (Fudge, 2011, 134).…”

“…En el primer sentido, un estudio jurídico clásico que vincula los feminismos y el sindicalismo demostró que la poca participación de las mujeres en los sindicatos se explica a partir de tres causas: la presencia de estereotipos de género vinculados a la "des-organización" de las mujeres; una fuerte ideología de separación dicotómica público/privado; la preeminencia de mujeres en sectores de actividad precarizados, temporales y a tiempo parcial (Crain, 1991). A partir de este diagnóstico, se propuso una feminización de los sindicatos (Crain, 1991(Crain, , 1207 a través de dos estrategias principales: incrementar la presencia de mujeres en los sindicatos y reformar la legislación laboral. En este último punto, si bien la propuesta apunta a reformular la noción de "trabajo" de los ordenamientos jurídico-laborales (de modo de contemplar el trabajo de reproducción social de la vida), no contempla un aspecto medular de los sistemas de relaciones colectivas de trabajo: la noción de interés colectivo.…”