Solidarity Betrayed: How Unions Enable Sexual Harassment - And How They Can Do Better

In the years since #MeToo, a fundamental shift in public consciousness about sexual harassment in the workplace has taken root. So what are trade unions, whose mission is to improve workers' lives, doing to address sexual harassment? Solidarity Betrayed critiques the US labor movement's failures on the taboo subject of sexual harassment. Ana Avendaño draws on decades of organizing experience to provide a compelling insider's account of trade unions' complicity, collusion, victim blaming, and lack of perpetrator accountability. Sharing survivors' stories and examples of how labor leaders and bureaucrats have perpetrated abuse, Avendaño explores how labor laws and practices are accomplices in perpetuating harassment and how women labor leaders are too often enablers. She concludes with examples of what some unions do to address the problem and offers aspirational recommendations that unions and their allies can adopt to create harassment-free workplaces. Read more