IBE-W - International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

many women \vork.ed but were nOl paid).
A repon by the Ontariu Burca u of
Industries in 1889 provided the fo l­
lowing ~ta [i :"lic~:
Female Workers Over
16 Years of Age
(Wilhout Dependenls,
Average number ot hours/wee worked . 54
Average number of dayslyear worked ....... 259
Average wagesJyear from occupalion .. C $216.11
Cost 01 Clolhing .. .. ........................ C $ 67. 31
Cost of Board & Lodging ... . ...... C St26.36
Total cost 01 hVIOg .....•.•.•.•..•...•...•••.. CS214.28
Surplus ....... .... .................................. C S 2.43
Source Onla r1O Bureau of Indusmes 1889
Courtesy Canadian Encycl(Jped lCl
Women's Labour
Leagues of Canada
Modeled after the Bri tish Labou r
Leagu es. the Women" Labour
Leagues emerged in Canadu prior 10
World War I. Their purpo,e was to
organize women work ers and support
the trade union movement. The league!)
saw a period or lim ited grow th until.
under the direction of activ;;\. Florence
CuSlancc. Ihey grew 10 37 local,:..
by 1927. The WLL ·s platform. radica l
ror it!, urne, incl uded among it:, demands
equal pay for e'ILIal work. Although
the WLL IVas not succe"ful in
unionizmg women. they did edLicational
work and organizi ng work for the lab r
movcmcm.
Women on a factory assembly line
making 'elephone equipment lit 8
handsel receiver assembly conveyer
at Western Electric, Hawthorne
Works, Chicago, illinois (1919).
A womBn in the construction trades,
"pinning In sash " on B window (19 19).
The Emergence Of
Strong Women's
Trade Unions
Women worker in the United State"
and Canada cont inued 10 fighl for an
equitable and just workplace. The entrench
ed Iradilion1' that con linually
blocked the growth of women 's labor
un ions were difficult 10 remove. and
the labor muvement ,ufrcrcd ungoing
opposi rion in the wake of cominued
effort' by some to halt the movement
altoge ther.
Women s;eeking to be apprcnllces in
non-traditi ona l Cnlft!, we re. a~ a mailer
of practice. rebLiffed. Apprenllce"hip
in the Un ited l atc~ anti in carly Canada
wa~ a ~y"\te m Ihal rarely tra ined women
toa quire theskillsofa particulanrade
or prn fcs~io n . The th ree major IllCUTl..,
ofacces>!o apprentice,hlP were thr ugh
in ~ l i lLlt io n ~, family . or un agreement
with :'111 cS I:'l b! i!o.hcd 1·:tfllojl11:lll . Women
'\oon dif\covcrcd Ihm it wa~ nearly impo,sible
to break into the ranks of apprc
m icc!-Ihip umil the mid- 19th ccnlUry.
One 'L1eh notable gr up wa the
National Women's Trade Union
League-a dynamic fo rce inlhe emergence
of the Telephone Operators'
U nion.
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IIlEW JOURNAl./AUGUST t992