Association for Union Demoracy. Women's Project

Email: info@uniondemocracy.org | Address: 104 Montgomery Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11225, USA | Phone: 718-564-1114

The Labor Movement can be a great force for democracy, social progress, and social justice.

To fulfill that potential, it must be thoroughly democratic in its internal life. There is no effective substitute for strong, democratic unions to help workers achieve dignity and respect, to defend and increase their standard of living, and to fight for better, safer, conditions in the workplace. There is no substitute for internal union democracy to combat discrimination, fight racketeering, get rid of corruption, and oust self-serving officials. In many unions democratic rights are real and unquestioned, but in large sections of the US labor movement these rights are trampled upon and must be restored.



The Association for Union Democracy (AUD) is the only national, pro-labor, non-profit organization dedicated solely to advancing the principles and practices of democratic trade unionism in the North American labor movement. It is the premise of AUD that internal democracy makes unions stronger and better able to fight for the rights and interests of working people. We provide organizing, educational, and legal assistance to those fighting for greater membership control of their unions. As a non-partisan organization, AUD does not support or endorse candidates for union office or particular policies within unions. Rather, AUD supports actions which strengthen the democratic process, promoting membership participation, free speech and fair elections, so that union members can shape the direction and actions of their union.

The Women's Project is a national advocacy project, created and funded by the Association for Union Democracy (AUD). The AUD was founded in 1969 as a permanent organization to help protect the democratic rights of unionists and considers itself a national, pro-labor, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the principles and practices of democratic trade unionism in the North American labor movement. The organization created a national network of unionists, civil libertarians, labor educators, workers rights attorneys, law professors, and others who share the same goal. In 1985 AUD created the Women's Project, directed by Susan Jennik, to offer guidance and assistance to women unionists on utilizing their rights in unions and under the law to enable them to campaign effectively for equal rights in their unions and on the job.

The AUD Women's Project developed a network of women's groups from around the country and held its first conference titled "Women in Unions," in November of 1986. In the years since, the Women's Project has held numerous conferences, workshops, and seminars on issues of harassment, union rights, and women in nontraditional trades. AUD's monthly publication, Union Democracy Review, provides a forum for women unionists to publicize their work and recommend resources and exchange information about issues experienced by women in unions and in the workplace. In the early 1990s, the Women's Project published Manual for Survival for Women in Nontraditional Trades, which was then revised in 2000. Also in 2000 the Women's Project, then under the direction of Jane LaTour, launched "Operation Punchlist," to focus public attention on the barriers still facing women in nontraditional jobs.