Carla Winkler, standing at left, is the IAM Women's Committee representative for the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), which is the umbrella organization for millions of transport workers worldwide.

Women — 3

Global Networking

International Transport Workers Federation
Internationally, the department works with the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). The ITF represents 5,000,000 members from 621 unions in 137 countries. For the first time in ITF history, a woman serves as Chair of the Civil Aviation Committee Sector. That woman is IAM Grand Lodge Representative Carla Winkler.

Another section of the ITF is the Women’s Committee, which was established following Congress action in New Delhi in 1988. There are 32 members of the Women’s Committee from around the world. The North American region is permitted four members, of which the IAM holds one of those positions.

Like most workers in the industry, women are seeing globalization, deregulation and privatization squeeze their jobs, their wages and their conditions. Women have also been facing unequal wages and rights, closed doors, poor parenting and maternity provisions, discrimination and harassment.

The ITF Women’s Committee and Department campaigns and responds to issues of discrimination and the lack of opportunity for women in the industry. Central to the ITF’s campaigning is the aim to organize women into trade union activities, empowering women to secure better working conditions, more rights and equality with their male colleagues.

Better pay for women means better income for all the family. A workplace without harassment and bullying is a happier workplace for all. Childcare for both men and women means more time with the family for all. Women in union leadership and in organizing jobs means more women members ─and stronger unions!

The ITF believes strongly in basic rights for all workers. The ITF Women’s Committee works to develop ITF-wide tools and policies and to provide materials, information and support for women transport workers to campaign successfully for these rights.

Women and men working in the transportation industry are often exposed to safety risks. Some of these risks have gender aspects. Working alongside dangerous chemicals, in a port area for example, can endanger an unborn child. Health risks such as stress are suffered by those working face-to-face with the public ─who are often women. Violence at work is an issue for women transport workers, as is sexual harassment. The ITF is committed to developing materials, policies and model procedures to address these matters.

Strong trade unions need strong women. In transport, the biggest employment growth is taking place in areas of clerical or customer services work, where young female employment is high. In call centers, for example, female employment can reach 70 percent.

The ITF believes that strong transport unions need a strong and active female membership. Its Women’s Committee promotes increased participation of women in trade union activities through campaigning and via mainstream ITF education activities. The ITF supports the creation of women’s structures and believes more women need to take up leadership positions in transport trade unions.

The ITF organizes many education activities focusing on women’s issues. A long term education program for African women was launched in 1999 and if successful will be extended to Asia and Latin America. In Latin America several women educators have been trained to run grass- roots level activities for women.

Running campaigns to address the specific problems of women transport workers is part of the ITF’s strategy. The ITF is working to become a more practical, task-based and campaign-based organization. One specific campaign, attacking sexism in the aviation industry, has already received widespread publicity.

An education manual for women transport workers is to be produced which will cover areas like bargaining for women and practical ways to deal with working in occupations where gender segregation is high. Research work, such as a detailed survey on working conditions in one or more of the transport sectors, and an equal opportunities in aviation best practice guide is planned to follow up the anti-sexism campaign.

An ITF Women Transport Workers’ Network has been established, the active function of which is information exchange. The Network enables women in ITF unions to contact each other informally to exchange materials, help and advice. The ITF Women’s Department supplies details of women in the transport industry in each country and has produced an ITF Network handbook, listing the special interests of each union, along with the name of the contact person.

The IAM has worked with the ITF on various activities. Every year we coordinate our efforts to kick-off topic related campaigns on International Women’s Day. In 2003, the goal was to galvanize support for America’s working families through a postcard campaign to elected officials. Most recently, the IAM worked in concert with the ITF to bring awareness to the global Eliminate Violence Against Women Day.

International Metalworkers Federation
The International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) represents some 25 million workers in more than 200 unions from 100 countries around the world. Recently the IMF has established a Women’s Committee. Through pooling our efforts globally on women and family issues, the IAM Women’s Department looks forward to enhancing the robust relationship that exists between the IAM and the IMF.

Women’s 2000 Convention Committee Report

At the 2000 IAM Grand Lodge Convention, the Human Rights and Women’s Departments joined together as a convention committee and deliberated to contemplate key issues and make recommendations to the International for consideration. The following is a partial list of recommendations from the Women’s portion of the report:

• The committee urges all lodges to encourage more involvement of their women and minority members in political action committees and the Machinists Non-Partisan Political League (MNPL) and the Canadian Machinists Political League (CMPL).
• The committee urges the IAM to support candidates who support women and family issues.
• The committee recommends every local and district lodge work to ensure that inequities that currently exist in our healthcare system in the U.S., i.e. prostrate cancer screening vs. mammogram screening and disparities that exist in equal treatment, regardless of gender. Inasmuch as Canadians are covered by a National Health Care System, its security must be continued with an ever watchful eye to ensure equal treatment for all.
• The committee recommends that the Women’s Department work to raise the level of awareness on legislation that affects women both in the U.S. and Canada.
• The committee recommends that the Women’s Department develop a paper on pay equity to assure district and local lodges understand the difference between pay equity and equal pay for equal work, in order to assist in negotiating into collective agreements.
• The committee encourages local Women’s Committees to make connections and liaisons with their local Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs).
• The committee urges the IAM to develop videos and reading materials that can be used in schools and PTAs to ensure that students, women and minorities are aware of non-traditional jobs.
• The committee strongly urges local and district lodges to affiliate with the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), by becoming a member of a local CLUW Chapter, where one exists and to secure membership at CLUW’s national level. In Canada, continue to work with the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and the National Child Care Coalition, as well as encourage locals to work in their areas with these groups.
• The committee recommends the continued work by the Women’s Department to raise the level of awareness surrounding the issue of Violence Against Women.

Conclusion

Since the establishment of our Women’s Department and development of an Action Program, the IAM has strongly encouraged each and every local and district lodge to implement and utilize this program. Our network of women activists is growing, with more sisters utilizing the skills which we have taught them to obtain leadership positions.

As a union, we will continue to strive to ensure that our sisters are given equal opportunities and training so that they may have the confidence and the competitive skills required for all leadership positions they may seek.

The future growth and consequent strength of our union will depend to a remarkable degree on the support and work of our sisters. Their work in organizing new and current members is vital to ensuring that the IAM remain a strong presence both nationally and internationally in the labor movement.

In addition, the work of our sisters is absolutely crucial in helping us to elect labor family friendly candidates to ensure safe and healthy workplaces, livable wages, job protection, and securing future IAM workplaces of which our children and grandchildren can be proud.

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