ATU Launches Women’s Equity Training
Our Union is committed to women’s equity and inclusion. That means fighting for equity for our members in the workplace, in contract negotiations, in our own campaigns, and in the halls of government.
A Woman’s Right to Choose
This also means coming together and protecting a women’s right to choose. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, protests are happening across the United States to protect a person’s constitutional right to have an abortion. Access to healthcare without fear is everyone’s right, and reproductive freedom is a worker’s rights issue.
For too long, women have been mistreated, disrespected, and discriminated against in the workplace and in our union halls. While the issues that affect women are concerns for all workers, women are disproportionality affected by the unjust policies, procedures, and practices of our employers.
ATU Gets to Work for Women
Under the leadership of International President John Costa, the Women’s Equity Initiative has taken shape with surveys, bargaining resources, and training for our Local Unions to fight back against discriminatory policies and treatment.
Women’s Equity Training
Through this work, our Union has launched a Women’s Equity Training to address these issues in our Union, Locals, and workplaces. The interactive, discussion-based training is led by a mix of ATU staff and instructors who know the ATU, including ATU organizer Sarah Maceda-Maciel, Bianca Cunningham from the Action Center for Race and the Economy (ACRE) as well as Labor Notes, and International Vice President, and third generation ATU member, Yvette Trujillo.
The instructors lead participants through a number of discussions that introduce resources, including sample contract language, industry studies and reports, sample surveys, and methods to audit workplace policies and practices regarding workplace safety, harassment, and discrimination.
Participants also discuss the experiences from their careers in transit, looking at issues that disproportionately affect women and the tools to build strategies and tactics to win women’s equity.