Happy International Women's Day!

By Beth Myers, Executive Director, STITCH

Although International Women’s Day is not celebrated in the United States with much fanfare, it is a day that women around the world use to highlight women’s challenges and successes. Many have heard of International Women’s Day and understand that it is a day to celebrate women, but did you know that this day is also an important milestone in women’s union power?

International Women’s Day was first created to mark the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York in 1911. This fire was one of the worst industrial disasters in New York and caused 148 garment workers to lose their lives.

From Wikipedia:

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company had already become well-known outside the garment industry by 1911: the massive strike by women's shirtwaist makers in 1909, known as the Uprising of 20,000, began with a spontaneous walkout at the Triangle Company. While the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union negotiated a collective bargaining agreement covering most of those workers after a four-month strike, Triangle Shirtwaist refused to sign the agreement. The conditions of the factory were typical of the time. Flammable textiles were stored throughout the factory, scraps of fabric littered the floors, patterns and designs on sheets of tissue paper hung above the tables, the men who worked as cutters sometimes smoked, illumination was provided by open gas lighting, and there were a few buckets of water to extinguish fires. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, (now known as UNITE/HERE) which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry.

AND Women’s Union Power is not only in the History Books!
Last year was the first year in over twenty that union density did not fall in United States.
Why? WOMEN!

(WOMENSNEWS)--The first increase in union membership in a quarter of a century was recorded in 2007 with employment sectors traditionally dominated by women driving the turnaround.

Nearly two-thirds of new union members last year were women, who now represent 44 percent of union membership, an all-time high.

Amid signs that union membership declines are bottoming out, Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, which represents over 800,000 workers, is cautiously optimistic about the future for unions as well as for organizing more female workers.

"We face greater challenges than ever because we are up against powerful multinational corporations," said Durazo, whose union represents workers in the hotel, apparel and food service industries. "But I'm confident that we can meet the challenges because the best recruiting tool is a satisfied union member."

Read the full story here. 

So on March 8^th (and everyday) celebrate the union power of the women you know!