The Promise
Communist Organizing in the Needle Trades, the Dressmakers' Campaign, 1928-1937
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3983048 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mercedes Steedman (Laurentian University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1994 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Pages | 37 |
| Publication date | 1994-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Labour / Le Travail (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0700-3862 • E-ISSN: 1911-4842 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/25143845 |
| OpenAlex | W1561464571 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
This paper deals with the Needle Trades Industrial Union (NITU) organization drive in the garment industry of the cities of Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg. I argue that the relative success of this branch of the Workers Unity League (WUL) in unionizing the female workforce originates in part from the union's internal representation structure. Women's work was isolated from men's by the sharp gender division of work, which characterized the garment trade. A union structure adopted to overcome this division of work, one based on the place of work (and not on the industrial branch) favoured women's participation to unionism. Resumes Cet article traite de l'effort d'organisation de l'Union industrielle des ouvrierseres de l'aiguille du Canada (UIOAC), une branche de la Ligue d'unite ouvriere (LUO), dans l'industrie de la confection des villes de Montreal, Toronto et Winnipeg. Nous voulons demontrer que le succes relatif de l'effort de syndicalisation de cette force de travail largement feminine tient, en partie, a la structure de la delegation syndicale adoptee par le UIOAC. La stricte division sexuelle du travail qui caracterise le proces de production de l'industrie du vetement isolait le travail des femmes de celui des hommes. La structure syndicale adoptee pour surmonter cette division du travail, fondee sur le lieu de travail (et non par branche d'industrie), a eu pour effet de favoriser la participation des travailleuses au syndicalisme
Communism · Political science · Politics · Canadian Identity and History · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Labor Movements and Unions · Law
| Citations per year | 0.43 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2025 (7) |
| Highly cited | No |