ILR interns in D.C. help honor women union leaders

From left, front: Francine Moccio, director of ILR's Institute for Women and Work; Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO; and Brian Harnett '03; rear: Robert Cucchiaro '02, Pearl Ann Hendrix '03 and Andrew Wenzel '03 on Nov. 7 at the AFL-CIO national headquarters in Washington, D.C. Bill Burke/Page One

It is certainly not new for Cornell ILR (Industrial and Labor Relations) student credit interns in Washington, D.C., to find themselves in the midst of history-making events. There was, however, a recent occasion that deserves special mention.

Last semester, on Nov. 7, ILR credit interns joined top leaders of the AFL-CIO at an evening reception at the union's national headquarters in Washington for five newly elected female officers of the union who have, in essence, cracked the "glass ceiling" in national union leadership.

The women unionists, whom the students were able to meet, represent members from across a broad spectrum of occupations.

Anxious to query the ILR students on their views and recommendations on ways to increasingly revitalize labor, Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, hosted an intensive discussion with the students in his office for more than two hours.

Overall, the evening signaled a new image for American labor, said Francine Moccio, professor and director of ILR's Institute for Women and Work.

"Coming at the beginning of the new century, this event honoring these exceptional women leaders symbolizes a paradigmatic shift from the conventional wisdom that unions are strictly a male purview to what many see as labor's future -- working women organized across culturally diverse backgrounds and occupations," Moccio said.

The ILR Credit Internship program in Washington, D.C., is directed by ILR Professor Cletus Daniel in the collective bargaining department at the ILR School.

For further information, or a program description, call Brigid Beachler, program coordinator, at 255-2226 or e-mail bk30@cornell.edu.