In Whose Interest? Women Organizing on the Waterfront – St. John's, Newfoundland, 1948

• Published in: Journal of Historical Sociology
• Main Author: CULLUM, LINDA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2009
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6443.2009.01344.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1467-6443.2009.01344.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-6443.2009.01344.x

Abstract In 1948, female fish and blueberry processors formed the Ladies' Cold Storage Workers Union in Job Brothers fish plant, St. John's, Newfoundland. This was accomplished in the context of structural and social change in the Newfoundland fishery that altered the social relations of paid work for the women. Literature on unionization generally assumes it to be a positive event for women workers, but closer examination of specific instances raises questions about economic, social and ideological conditions shaping experiences of unionization. Whose interests were served by the formation of the Ladies' Cold Storage Workers Union and how did women engage with “their union” in this moment?