Working 9 to 5
A Women's Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
"A must-read for any activist or reader in search of inspiration." —Liz Shuler, president, AFL-CIO
2022 Sarton Awards Finalist for Memoir
2023 Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medalist - Women's Issues category
9 to 5 wasn't just a comic film—it was a movement built by Ellen Cassedy and her friends.
Ten office workers in Boston started out sitting in a circle and sharing the problems they encountered on the job. In a few short years, they had built a nationwide movement that united people of diverse races, classes, and ages.
They took on the corporate titans. They leafleted and filed lawsuits and started a woman-led union. They won millions of dollars in back pay and helped make sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination illegal.
The women office workers who rose up to win rights and respect on the job transformed workplaces throughout America. And along the way came Dolly Parton's toe-tapping song and a hit movie inspired by their work.
Working 9 to 5 is a lively, informative, firsthand account packed with practical organizing lore that will embolden anyone striving for fair treatment.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Labor activist Cassedy (We Are Here), cofounder of 9 to 5, the association of working women that inspired the movie 9 to 5, delivers an inspirational if uneven account of her organizing efforts in the 1970s and '80s. Noting that many female office workers of the era didn't consider themselves feminists or were afraid of repercussions from their male bosses, Cassedy details the innovative approaches she and other leaders took, including lunchtime meetings and publicity pranks. She also shares stories of harassment and discrimination collected from the group's members and documents the condescending treatment the organization received from male union officials. Discussions of internal drama in 9 to 5 are kept to a minimum ("There were occasional conflicts and blowups," Cassedy admits, "but for the most part we functioned as a team"), and an intriguing section on the group's concerns about the plot of the 1980 comedy is cut short to sing the praises of stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton. Details about Cassedy's romantic relationship with fellow labor activist Jeff Blum also feel somewhat out of place. Still, this is an entertaining and occasionally enraging reminder of just how long and hard the fight for women's equality has been.
