The UAW held its 47th International Women’s Conference from August 6-11, 2023, at the Walter & May Reuther Family Education Center at Black Lake in Onaway, MI. Delegates spent the week participating in various workshops, listening to the experiences and knowledge of guest speakers, and discussing how to further empower women in our union and workplaces. During UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock’s keynote Q&A session, she fielded questions from attendees and spoke about engaging her power by standing firm and doing what is right for the membership. She also recounted her personal journey during her time in the UAW and offered ...
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The first Sunday in August is National Sisters Day, and your opportunity to show your appreciation for that unique bond only sisters can understand. What better way to celebrate than joining with your fellow union sisters in the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)? On March 24, 1974, over 3,000 determined labor union women and supportive feminists from across the United States convened in Chicago to create the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). The UAW was a founding supporter of CLUW, which elected then-UAW Vice President Olga Madar as its first president. CLUW’s first convention established four goals that ...
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Olga Marie Madar was the first woman to serve on the United Auto Workers (UAW) International Executive Board. Born in the coal mining town of Sykesville, Pa., on May 17, 1915, Madar moved to Detroit with her family during the Depression. After graduating from Northeastern High School in 1933, she began to spend her summers working on the assembly line at Chrysler’s Kercheval plant and the Bower Rolling Bearing plant in order to fund her college education. In 1938, Madar graduated from Michigan Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University), having earned a degree in physical education. In 1941, Madar left ...
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On March 24, 1974, over 3,000 determined labor union women and supportive feminists from across the United States convened in Chicago to create the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). Taking planes, trains and automobiles, the women gathered to outline a plan of action that would amplify their voices in the male-dominated labor movement of the time. The UAW is proud of its role at that founding convention, which elected then-UAW Vice President Olga Madar as its first president. CLUW’s first convention established four goals that would guide its work to improve and empower working women: Promote workplace affirmative action ...
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