Working Conditions and Unionzation of Women in the Textile Industry (1942-1946)
Contexte
In 1943, Madeleine Parent began organizing textile workers at the Merchants cotton mill in Saint-Henri for the United Textile Workers of America (UTWA/OUTA), an industrial union.
The female workers were pleased by her presence. They were proud to participate in union meetings on equal footing with the men, and glad that attention was being paid to their specific working conditions, which included favouritism, discrimination, harassment, the arduousness of their tasks, the pace of the work, the issue of piecework, and the occasional presence of their children. Added to their load were their household responsibilities and motherhood. The union’s attention to their demands fostered a militant spirit and solidarity among them. These would prove essential in later negotiations and labour disputes.
