| The
workplace remains the site where sexual harassment has its greatest
impact on women, where it can cause dam age to women's lives. When
there is sexual harassment at work, women find it difficult to win
other gains. In
part, this is because sexual harassment leads to high job turnover,
and workplaces with a frequently changing labor force have difficulty
developing the continuity needed to organize.
Building unity in a workplace plagued with sexual harassment is
difficult. But only through unity will workers be capable of winning
at the bargaining table. This is as true for the fight against harassment
as it is for any other work workers' struggle.
Fighting
sexual harassment and workplace discrimination may seem like a tall
order. But as more women come forward, and more men recognize their
responsibilities, it will become easier to develop a common understanding
of the problem and to stop harassing behavior altogether. A key
step in the process involves convincing people that sexual harassment
is a public issue that affects all of us-not a personal problem.
As a group, the local union has the power to effect change. That's
what it's all about. By fighting sexual harassment, Teamsters are
taking important steps towards building the solidarity needed to
win other gains in pay, benefits, and working conditions.
|