wa

WOMEN’S

ISSUES

PHOTO BY NORMAM GARCIA.
= At the IWA Council conference, women’s committee chaiperson Brenda Wagg (middle) delivered a report. Left is
committee fourth vice chair Cheryl Williams and right is Steelworkers secretary Irene Bing.

Looking forward to the future

IWA Council Women’s Committee submits report
to first-ever conference as United Steelworkers

AT THE INAUGARAL IWA Council
conference in September, the council’s
National Women’s Committee report-
ed on the past year’s activities and
reflected on how far the union’s
women’s program had advanced in the
past several years.

Council chairperson Brenda Wagg,
accompanied by fourth vice-chairperson
Cheryl Williams, reviewed the national
IWA Women’s Conference that was held
in Kelowna in June and thanked all
those who participated, including the
host Local 1-423, BC NDP leader Carole
James and numerous workshop presen-

ters including Local 500’s Mary Lou
Scott, Local 1-85’s Crystal Doucette, Local
1000’s Martha Ulch, Steelworkers
District 3 Education Coordinator Carol
Landry, Local 1-424’s Bonnie Armstrong,
Steelworkers District 3 Women’s
Committee chairperson Karen Adams,
Local 363’s Leslie McNabb, and Local 1-
424’s Shannon Euvermann.

The workshops were on Effective
Speaking, Conflict Resolution, Facing
Management, Women in Leadership,
and Stress in the Workplace.

“It's been amazing, over the years, and
gratifying, to see the impact that attend-

ing this conference has had on women of
the IWA,” said Sister Wagg, adding that
women have used the conference as a
springboard to becoming active in their
locals and have learned new skills
enabling them to make a difference.

“We look forward to the continued
support of our sisters and brothers as we
unite our committees with the
Steelworkers,” added Sister Wagg.
“Counting on the vibrancy and enthusi-
asm of women, our goal is to build upon.
our previous accomplishments and
explore our new horizons within the
Steelworkers.”

PROFILE

CHERVL WILLIAMS - LOCAL 1-3567

PHOTO BY ELAINE BRIERE

Planting the seeds for union women

SHE HAS SPENT MOST ofher work-
ing life in a tree seedling nursery, doing
the many tasks that need to be be done
to produce the seedlings which are
planted to help regenerate our forests.
Born in Maple Ridge and raised in near-
by Pitt Meadows, B.C., Steelworkers
Local 1-3567 member Cheryl Williams
(above right) has emerged as one of the
union’s leading women activists. Hiring
on at Pelton Reforestation in Maple
Ridge in 1985, Sister Williams road

through the many ups and downs that
workers do in a largely seasonal indus-
try. “The company would hire a bunch
of us — keep us for 29 days, then lay us
off, so we would not become ‘regular
employees’ entitled to benefits,” she
recalls, “But through our union (the for-
mer IWA) we put on end to that!”

Tt was through empowerment of the
union, and a basic desire to assist others,
that Cheryl became involved in plant
committee and safety committee activi-

ties. In 1999 she was elected as warden
for the local union, a position she still
holds today. Then she joined IWA
Canada’s National Women’s
Committee which, in 2000, established
itself along with an annual education
conference, in the union’s constitution.

As a Steelworker, and fourth vice
chairperson of the Steelworkers - IWA
Council Women’s Committee, Sister
Williams says union women will have
more opportunities within their new
union. As an IWA activist, she wit-
nessed, more and more women becom-
ing active at the plant, local and nation-
al level. “We are proud of our accom-
plishments, especially in terms of edu-
cating our membership, both women
and men, on workplace, social and eco-
nomic issues.”

In late November, Cheryl took a
week-long Instructors Level 1 course
with colleagues in her new union. “It
was a very impressive course,” she said.
“Like others I look forward to instructing
Steelworkers courses to our members.
They have a greater variety of courses
that our entire membership, including
our women workers, can benefit from.”

She looks forward to meeting with
Women in Steel, in order to utilize the
union’s many progressive programs
and policies.

PHOTO BY ELAINE BRIERE

= Nearly half of all Canada’s
union members are women.

Women have become more

active in labour movement
The involvement of women in their
trade unions is growing. The overall
percentage of women that are mem-
bers of the labour movement rises
steadily. By 2003 nearly half (about
48 per cent) of all trade unionists in
Canada were women. Compare that
to only 12 per cent in 1977. Today
about 30 per cent of wage-earning
ag) Women belong
to a union. In
‘T7 that number
was about 10
per cent. A big
change indeed!
Much of the
growth can be
attributed to
several factors.
Although
women are still society's primary
caregivers, today a higher percent-
age have paid work and thus a high-
er presence in unionized sectors of
the economy. Trade unions like the
Steelworkers and the former IWA,
have organized more service sector
workplaces, increasing the number

of women in recent years, who now
share in the benefits of union mem-
bership.

With that growth, important issues
that affect many women have
increasingly become collective bar-
gaining priorities. Those issues
include benefits for part-time work-
ers, pay equity provisions (equal pay
for work of equal value) and mater-
nal leave provisions. The last Women
of Steel conference focused on devel-
oping bargaining skills and strategies.
Bargaining priorities for women
include anti-harassment and violenc
prevention measures, provisions th!
help balance work and family
responsibilities and pay equity. In
some workplaces, women are bar-
gaining basic health and safety issues
like access to secure washroom and
shower facilities. Steelworkers have
strong policies that help to address
equality issues.

“The challenge, as with many issues,
is to develop a strategy in advance of
collective bargaining to build support
for particular proposals that will
address women's issues in the work-
place,” says Sue Milling, head of the
Steelworker’s Education, Equality and
Political Action Department. “While an
increasing number of Steelworker “-@
lective agreements are addressing
women and human rights issues,
there is still a long way to go.”
Women's committees are helping
identify and encourage women to get
more active in workplaces and in col-
lective bargaining processes: helping
to identify issues, develop argu-
ments, and running for positions on
negotiating committees.

Sue Milling

14 | THE ALLIED WORKER DECEMBER 2004