WOMENS COMMITTEE

Educating Our Sisters to Affect Change to the Challenges Women Face in the Workplace

• Providing effective educational programs designed to give our sisters the tools necessary to attain goals that are set on an individual and/or group basis.
• Through education we can provide our brothers with a better understanding of the problems women and working families’ face in today’s world.
• Inspiring women to become mentors to their sisters. To share their knowledge and lend emotional and moral support. A mentor can build self confidence and establish allies.
• Ensuring that the Placid Harbour Educational Centre will be the heart of our educational process. (William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Centre, Hollywood, Maryland)

Dramatically Enhance the Organizing Efforts of the IAMAW

• Developing a network of women organizers to be drawn upon in organizing campaigns by training our sisters from the shop floor to be effective organizers. Women are rapidly entering non-traditional occupations and through training, we can establish a bank of women organizers to assist us in plants or other work areas where there are large numbers of potential women members.
• Establishing an excellent record on collective bargaining as it relates to women and family issues so that the IAMAW becomes recognized as a strong advocate for both organized and unorganized workers.

Involving Our Sisters in Politics and the Legislative Arena

• Educating our sisters on legislative issues that affect women and working families in their everyday lives.
• Guiding and encouraging our sisters to actively participate in the political field by involving them on the grassroots level in the Machinist Non-Partisan Political League (MNPL), the Canadian Machinists Political League (CMPL), and the Committee on Political Education (COPE).
• Equipping our sisters through training to become involved in the everyday activities of politics such as promoting voter registration and motivating people to vote.

Networking and Reaching Out to Like-Minded Groups

• Forming relationships with those that support women and family issues like that of the Coalition of Labour Union Women (CLUW), the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (Canadian), the AFL-CIO Working Women’s Department, the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), etc.
• Establishing women’s committees on local and district lodge levels, where feasible. These committees would work in conjunction with committees set up on a local/district basis such as Legislative & Political Action, Health & Safety, Bargaining Committees, etc. These women’s committees will be better prepared to share information, seek guidance, report successes and work with the Women’s Department to seek resolutions to issues facing women and working families.

Please contact any of the Committee members listed above if you have any questions or require any additional information.