Sisters, we’ve come a long way.
When we first started Tradeswomen Inc., we had one goal:to improve the lives of women — especially women heading households —by opening doors to good, high-paying union jobs.
It took us decades to be accepted by our unions. Decades of proving ourselves on the job, standing our ground, demanding a seat at the table.
And now — by and large — we’re there. We are leaders. Business agents. Organizers. Stewards. We have changed the face of the labor movement.
But sisters, we are living in a dangerous time.
Our own federal government is attacking the labor movement. And we cannot look away.
We all know that Donald Trump is gunning for unions. Project 2025 is his blueprint — a plan to dismantle workers’ rights and roll back decades of progress.
Let me tell you some of what’s in that plan.
*It would roll back affirmative action, regulations we worked so hard to secure,*Allow states to ban unions in the private sector,*Make it easier for corporations to fire workers who organize,*And even let employers toss out unions that already have contracts in place.
*It would eliminate overtime protections,*Ignore the minimum wage,*End merit-based hiring in government so Trump can pack the system with loyalists,*And — unbelievably — it would weaken child labor protections.
Sisters and brothers, this is not reform. It’s revenge on working people.
And yet, too many union members still vote against their own interests. Why?
Because propaganda works. Because we are being lied to — by the media, by politicians, by billionaires who want to divide us.
That means our unions must do more than just bargain wages. We must educate. Engage. Empower. Because the fight ahead isn’t just about contracts. It’s about truth.
We women have proven ourselves to be strong union members — and strong union leaders.
We’ve built solidarity. We’ve organized. We’ve made our unions more inclusive and more reflective of the real working class.
And now it’s time for our unions to stand with us.
Many of our building trades unions have stood up to Trump, and to anyone who would divide working people.
But one union — the Carpenters — has turned its back on us.
The Carpenters leadership has disbanded Sisters in the Brotherhood, the women’s caucus that so many of us fought to build.
They have withdrawn support from the Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference, the largest gathering of union tradeswomen in the world. They’ve withdrawn support for women’s, Black, Latino, and LGBTQ caucuses claiming they’re “complying” with Trump’s executive orders.
That’s not compliance. That’s capitulation.
But the rank and file aren’t standing for it.
Across the country, Carpenters locals are rising up, passing resolutions to restore Sisters in the Brotherhood, and to support Tradeswomen Build Nations.
Because, they know:You don’t build solidarity by silencing your own. And our movement — this movement — is built on inclusion, not fear.
While the Carpenters’ leadership retreats, others are stepping up.
The Painters sent their largest-ever delegation — nearly 400 women —to Tradeswomen Build Nations this year.
The Sheet Metal Workers are fighting the deportation of apprentice Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Electricians union is launching new caucuses, organizing immigrant defense committees, and they are saying loud and clear:
Every worker means every worker.
Over a century ago, the IWW — the Wobblies — said it best:
“An injury to one is an injury to all.”
That’s the spirit of the labor movement we believe in —and the one we will keep alive.
Our unions are some of the only institutions left with real power to stand up to the fascist agenda of Trump and his allies.
We have to use that power — boldly, collectively, fearlessly.
Because this fight is about more than paychecks. It’s about democracy. It’s about equality. It’s about whether working people — all working people — will have a voice in this country.
Sisters and brothers, we’ve built this movement with our hands,our sweat, and our solidarity.
Now — it’s time to defend it. Together.
Solidarity forever!
…
*Tradeswomen, Inc. is a grassroots recruitment, retention and leadership development organization for women in blue-collar skilled crafts whose goal isto increase the number of women in construction and related trades.
PHOTOS: Top to Bottom: One the Rosie the Riveter generation with a photo of herself on the job in Richmond, CA. – A potash miner in N.M. – Working the car assembly line in Fremont, CA. All photos: Robert Gumpert
"Wonder Woman Electric to the Rescue", by Molly Martin. Memoir, Essays, and Short Stories by a trailblazing tradeswoman. All proceeds from the sale of this book benefit Shaping San Francisco (http://www.shapingsf.org/) a quarter-century old project dedicated to the public sharing of lost, forgotten, overlooked, and suppressed histories of San Francisco and the Bay Area.
The Stansbury Forum is a website for discussion by writers, activists and scholars on the topics that Jeff Stansbury focused his life on: labor, politics, immigration, the environment, and world affairs.
