Live Wire: Women and Brotherhood in the Electrical Industry

by Fran Moccio

Overview

Belonging to a union can bring higher wages, fringe benefits, greater job security and, sometimes, training. But unions—still known as "brotherhoods"—often remain rigidly segregated by gender, despite the fact that sexual harassment and discrimination in employment are illegal. Live Wire is an in-depth case study of Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, arguably the most powerful and influential building trades local in the United States. Francine Moccio brings to life forty years of public policy failure that has resulted in restricted opportunities for women in skilled blue-collar jobs.

Live Wire is a unique foray into the gender dynamics of one trade and one union in historical depth, based on extensive primary, secondary, and archival research. It contributes much-needed research about sex segregation in blue-collar occupations, particularly in unions and fraternal organizations. And it provides important insights into complex interactions of work, union, and family life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592137398
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	08/03/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	944 KB

About the Author

Francine A. Moccio is Director of the Institute for Women and Work, ILR School at Cornell University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 
Introduction: Getting Wired 
1. Brotherhood: The History 
2. A Closer Look at Local 3 
3. The Struggle to Become Electricians 
4. On the Electrical Construction Work Site: The Sexual Charge 
5. Race for the Brotherhood: The Ironies of Integration 
6. A Club of Her Own 
Conclusion: Getting Women Down to the Job Site 
Appendix A 
Appendix B 
Appendix C 
Appendix D 
Notes 
Selected References 
Glossary 
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Live Wire is the story of every group of outsiders who has ever tried to enter the world of insiders, of women braving an all-male kingdom, and of unions that cannot succeed without women—and vice versa. In telling the stories of women electricians, Francine Moccio gives us a universal human story, an exposé of why women are still only two percent of the building trades despite thirty years of trying, and a key to the mystery of why Americans are still seventy percent more likely to end up old and poor if they are female. If President Obama wants to solve the problems of poverty and our crumbling bridges and highways at the same time, he should read this book and insist that women work side by side with men. And if anybody thinks for a moment the women's movement is over, he or she should go right out and buy Live Wire." 
—Gloria Steinem

From the Publisher