History
CLUW was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1974 as part of a wave of constituency group organizing within the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO had chartered its first retiree organization, the National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSC), in 1962 and its first civil rights organization, the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), in 1965. The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) followed in 1972.
The impetus for the formation of CLUW came in June 1973 when women labor union leaders, led by Olga Madar of the United Auto Workers and Addie Wyatt of the United Food and Commercial Workers met to discuss the formation of a new AFL-CIO body to create a more effective voice for women in the labor movement. More than 3,000 women attended the conference.
The Coalition of Labor Union Women was formed during a national convention held March 23 to March 24, 1974. Myra Wolfgang, secretary-treasurer of the Detroit Joint Executive Board of Hotel and Restaurant Employees' and Bartenders' International Union, brought the 3,200 delegates to their feet by declaring:
- You can call Mr. Meany and tell him there are 3,000 women in Chicago and they didn't come here to swap recipes!
Olga Madar was elected the organization's first president.
Read more about this topic: Coalition Of Labor Union Women
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