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