AAUW Chapter and NWHM Honor the Real Women of "North Country"
In April 2006, the Hibbing, Minnesota, chapter of the American Association of University Women held a ceremony honoring the women workers at Eveleth Mines who filed the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit. Their story became the basis for the 2005 movie North Country. NWHM President Susan Jollie wrote a letter commending their efforts and the letter was read at the ceremony and each woman received a copy. Each woman was presented with a NWHM button with the quote, " Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History."
Northern Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range is home to the largest Iron ore deposit in the world. Since red iron ore was discovered in 1890 by the Merritt brothers, men have toiled in the iron mines, that is until 1974 when 9 of the country’s largest steel companies signed a consent decree with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Labor Department requiring the industry’s mines to provide 20% of its new jobs to women and minorities. And in 1975 four women walked into the Eveleth Mines Forbes Fairlane Plant for the first time. Among these women was a 27-year-old single mother named Lois Jenson. Jenson took a job at the mines because it paid 3 times as much as she could earn anywhere else and she needed a job that would pay enough to support herself and her young son and provide benefits such as health care. Her female colleagues at the mines sought employment there for much of the same reasons, many were family breadwinners and some were single women trying to support themselves. They all came looking for financial independence, but what they found would cost them so much more.
The men that worked at the mine were very vocal about their opposition to the women working at the mine right from the start and that disapproval turned ugly quickly. Pornographic pictures and graffiti began showing up everywhere around the mine, dildos modeled out of waterproofing material appeared in the women’s workplaces, lewd jokes and unwelcome physical contact form co-workers and supervisors became everyday occurrences. As more women were hired the harassment just got worse. The behavior of the men escalated into stalking, assault and threats of rape....... To read the rest of the background, click HERE
Three of the honorees with two AAUW branch staff at the
"Women in North Country, Their Story and Their Legacy" event:
L-R: Marcy Steele, Jan Carey (AAUW Branch President), Audrey Daniels,
Diane Hodge and Stephanie Carlson (AAUW Branch Public Policy Chair)
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Carlson
Susan Jollie's Letter to the Eveleth Mill Women on Behalf of the NWHM
The National Women’s History Museum is pleased to join with the Hibbing, Minnesota, branch of the American Association of University Women in honoring Lois Jenson and her fellow plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit that established important legal precedents on sexual harassment in the workplace. These courageous women initially had very modest goals, but their struggle ultimately improved the working conditions of women nationwide. The women who banded together to challenge the hostile environment at the Eveleth Mines are part of a long and proud tradition of women who have made America a better place to live.
There is a common misconception that women were not members of the workforce until recently. But women have always worked, on farms, in factories or as domestic servants, teaching school, working as secretaries, and participating in philanthropic organizations. One of the earliest and largest incidents of workplace activism occurred in 1836 when nearly 2,000 Lowell mill factory workers in Massachusetts went on strike, demanding better working conditions. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, women formed their own unions to better combat poor workplace situations, such as the Ladies Garment Worker’s Union and the Women’s Trade Union League. In all these cases, women were confronting large companies run by men who did not want to change. Women were instrumental in leading the fights for safer working conditions, fair wages, forty-hour work weeks, and the end to child labor, all of which are workplace conditions that we take for granted today.
The women at the Eveleth Mines were trailblazers. Following enactment of civil rights legislation, they seized the opportunity to be employed in jobs and industries that had traditionally been regarded as male occupations. Like the women before them, they were not out to change society but were motivated by a desire to earn higher wages and obtain benefits to support themselves or their families. They confronted male-dominated institutions that did not welcome change. Their fellow workers subjected them to verbal abuse, offensive materials, and unwelcome physical contact. The company refused to install women’s bathrooms and provide safety equipment sized for women’s smaller bodies.....To read the rest of the text, click HERE.
