We can't eat prestige

by John P. Hoerr

Encouraged by the women's movement of the early 1970s, a group of women workers (and a few men) began what would become a fifteen-year struggle to organize staff employees at Harvard. The women persisted in the face of patronizing and sexist attitudes of university administrators and leaders of their own national unions. Unconscionably long legal delays foiled their efforts. But they developed innovative organizing methods that merged feminist values with demands for union representation and a means of influencing workplace decisions. John Hoerr tells this story from the points of view of both Harvard administrators and union organizers. With unusual access to its meetings, leaders, and files, he examines the unique culture of a female-led union from the inside. Photographs add to the impact of this dramatic narrative.