On this day in Labor History the year was 1980.
That was the day that Joyce Miller became the first woman ever elected to the Executive Board of the AFL-CIO.
In her 2012 obituary the New York Timesdescribed Joyce’s commitment to women’s rights in the labor movement.
Writing “Ms. Miller saw union membership, collective bargaining and labor contracts as the road to equality for working women, and she believed that women should be a part of union management to make sure that attention was paid to issues like equal opportunity, equal pay, parental leave, child care, health insurance and discrimination in the workplace.”
Joyce grew up in Chicago, where she her earned her Master’s Degree in education from the University of Chicago.
She first entered the labor movement as worker at a gumball factory while attending college.
After graduation, she became the Education Director for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers in Pittsburgh.
She remained dedicated to union education for rank and file members.
Joyce was a founding member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women or CLUW.
She served as CLUW’s East Coast Vice President eventually being elected CLUW President in 1977, a position she held for 15 years.
Under her leadership CLUW worked as a powerful voice for women’s reproductive rights, improving child care, and increasing the number of women in union leadership positions.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton named Joyce Miller the Executive Director of the Glass Ceiling Commission.
The purpose of the commission was to gather testimony about women’s experiences in the workplace and to draft a report about their findings.
Of her career Joyce said, “I came to the labor movement with stars in my eyes, I saw it as a vehicle for social change, and I’ve never changed my mind.”
January 19 - A Snapshot in Misery
January 18 - Is Colorado in America?
January 17 - Standing Against Wage Theft
January 15 - We Want to Live, Not Just Exist
January 14 - The Rise of the Bellamyites
January 13 - Johnny Cash Plays Folsom Prison
January 12 - The Cost of Wartime Industrial Peace
January 11 - Battle of the Running Bulls
January 10 - The Rise of Settlement Houses
January 9 - Courts Stand Against Workers
January 8 - Oil Workers Walk Out Across the Country
January 7 - Tragic Youngstown Massacre
January 6 - Remembering Ida Tarbell
January 5 - Ohio First to Enact Black Laws
January 4 - Standing Up by Sitting Down
January 3 - The Power of Folded Arms and Marching Feet
January 2 - A Nation Fed Up, Strikes Back
January 1 - Transit Workers Push Back
December 31 - The Fight for Safer Working Conditions
December 30 - The Day Mines Were Made Safer
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Navigating Life After 40
Teaching Learning Leading K-12
Regenerative Skills
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast