How women organizers used Berger-Marks grants
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Women organizing women:
special report
July 23, 2010
New report now available!
Stepping Up, Stepping Back:
Women Activists ‘Talk Union’ Across Generations
The Berger-Marks Foundation trustees weren’t sure quite what to expect when we brought together 30 women activists -- half of them younger than 35, the other half older than 35 -- to New Orleans last March for an intergenerational conversation about the labor movement.
What we got was a deeper understanding of what it is about unions that turns younger women on and what turns them off.
We also managed to create a real sense of sisterhood among the participants from more than 25 unions and allied organizations who left New Orleans “refreshed, reconnected and less isolated.”
Spotlight on younger women, unions & social justice
The observations and recommendations of these 30 vibrant, intelligent women are captured in a report published by the Foundation, available here and in printed form. Stepping Up, Stepping Back: Women Activists ‘Talk Union’ Across Generations is an honest and complete reflection of how these women view social justice, the American labor movement and the role of younger women in unions.
New & provocative ideas emerge from frank discussions
The report is based on quotations from the women themselves (most of them anonymous) as well as conclusions and ideas produced by group discussions that were recorded by two facilitators on flip charts.The Under 35 (U35) and Over 35 (O35) participants at first met separately, followed by combined conversations in plenary sessions.
Like the women who attended this intergenerational summit, Stepping Up, Stepping Back pulls no punches in its critique of today’s unions. Its prescription for change includes practical, yet bold, steps that America’s labor movement should undertake in order to ensure it becomes a “safe space” for tomorrow’s women workers and activists.
Read about the Stepping Up, Stepping Back summit meeting that the report's findings are based on.
Read Huffington Post article by Robert Drago that highlights the report.
How to get your copy
Download a copy of the report here (in PDF format)
Get printed copies for yourself or your union, educational program, or other needs.:
Just download and mail in this order form (PDF format). If you're ordering more than 5 copies, please enclose a check to cover shipping charges:
Up to 5 copies: No Charge
5 -50 copies: $15
51 -75 copies: $20
76-100 copies: $30
Each additional 100 copies: $30
To find out more: a selection of readings
Want to know more about how age differences impact our work, family, and organizational lives?
Our Stepping Up, Stepping Back bibliography, prepared by A. B. Chitty in January 2010, puts at your fingertips a wealth of relevant literature. Sources explore how generations interact and how age differences can impact job attitudes and opportunities, unions, workplace strife, career interests, and more. Each listing is briefly described.
"How are unions attracting … new members?" A recent report from the Berger-Marks Foundation spotlighted the results of a summit involving different generations of women union activists, and the conclusions of the young participants are particularly striking. ..
"The values expressed by these young women bode well for the future of the union movement."
– Robert Drago,
The Huffington Post
July 19,2010
See more
reactions to the report
"After listening to all these women,
I want to make more of a difference."
"Mandie Yanasak, an Under 35 organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers, described how a coordinated global effort secured an agreement... for hundreds of workers at H&M
clothing stores in New York."
– Stepping Up, Stepping Back report
"They work you hard until you are ready to drop dead and then throw you out."
"Today's unions. often are not a "safe space" for women or young people.”
– Stepping Up, Stepping Back report
Activists speak candidly
See short video interviews from 'Stepping Up, Stepping Back' summit