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20th ANNIVERSARY

HERSTORY/TIME-LINE

1978-81	In 1978, affirmative action guidelines were first applied to employing women in the construction trades. The doors to high-paid, challenging careers were cracked open. The cement ceiling separating tradeswomen from steady and good jobs created the need among the sisters in the "brotherhood" of carpenters to form a support group. In 1981, as other tradeswomen joined the carpenter's potlucks and pickets, the idea of Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) was born.
1983	CWIT members filed charges against local contractors to bring pressure for more equitable hiring practices.
1984	CWIT works with Alderman McLaughlin to design the McLaughlin Ordinance encouraging contractors to hire women and minorities at city construction projects through the use of financial incentives that lower bids. CWIT hires its first part-time staff person Maureen Cahill to help develop a list of women available for work in the trades and to monitor the progress of the new ordinance. CWIT members, with the support of the Women's Law Project, file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights against the Washburne Trade School charging sex discrimination in the areas of recruitment, admission, retention and treatment.
1985	CWIT receives its first grant from the Crossroads Fund to develop a slide show on the history of women in non-traditional jobs.
1986	CWIT members gain a major victory when the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights substantiated the charges filed by the women at Washburne ordering the school to fully comply with Title IX. CWIT opens our first office at the Women's Law Project and hires Coral Norris and Lauren Sugerman as Co-Directors. CWIT hosts the first orientation to the trades seminar at Washburne and over 700 women attend.
1987	CWIT outgrows our cubicle at the Women's Law Project and moves to the Union of Electrical Workers Hall. A federal court rules that employers' failure to provide separate sanitary facilities for women on construction sites is sex discrimination. In another court decision, pornography on the jobsite is found to create a hostile work environment, a violation of equal employment opportunity of law. With a grant from the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor, CWIT designs the Pre-Apprenticeship Tutorial Workshop later known as the Technical Opportunities Program (TOP).
1988	Eileen Kreutz, carpenter and teacher extraordinaire leads growth of the Pre-Apprenticeship Tutorial Workshop, which expands to the basement of Malcolm X College, where it gains a real classroom and workspace. At the Dan Ryan Expressway, employers' choruses of "we can't find any tradeswomen" are put to rest when future CWIT Board Chair Lauricee Brown, a laborer, organizes a 6:00 am campfire on site with more than 50 unemployed skilled tradeswomen ready to work.
1989	Construction of the new federal building launches the Female Employment Initiative (FEI) with Stein and Co. developers. CWIT works with State Representative Barbara Flynn Currie to sponsor successful legislation to eliminate upper-age limits in apprenticeship programs. CWIT hosts the second National Tradeswomen's Conference in Chicago. Over 700 tradeswomen from across the country and around the world attend.
1990	CWIT launches the Tradeswomen's Retention Project to develop guidelines and policies for contractors and unions that will help women enter and stay in the trades.
1991	CWIT helps Congresswoman Connie Morella of Maryland draft the Women in Apprenticeship and Non-Traditional Occupations (WA-NTO) Act to help other community based organizations replicate CWIT's successful programs. The law authorizes $1 million for technical assistance to help contractors and unions hire and retain tradeswomen. CWIT launches the Tradeswomen Leadership Project to help tradeswomen grow as entrepreneurs, union activists and advocates.
1992	CWIT publishes "Breaking New Ground-Worksite 2000" (WS2000) defining strategies for fully integrating women into the construction industry. The publication is cited in two briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court and will be used on jobsites across the country and in Chicago. CWIT publishes "In for a Change" based on the Pre-Apprenticeship Tutorial Workshop (TOP) assisting other community groups in replicating our program and thereby helping women from across the country permanently leave public assistance and begin a life of self-sufficiency for themselves and their families. CWIT takes on new WS2000 projects at the Cook County Jail, Juvenile Detention Center, US Post Office, and McCormick Place, creating jobs and equitable working conditions for over 400 tradeswomen. CWIT works with IBEW Local 134 to develop a women's committee within the union to address female electricians concerns and needs, promote women's leadership and to establish sexual harassment policy and training for local members and apprentices.
1993	CWIT publishes "Tools for Success" a manual for tradeswomen on tips for survival and change in the trades. CWIT and the Tradeswomen Advisory Council produce the Women in Trades Career Fair attended by 500 women and girls.
1994	CWIT establishes the Flower Awareness in Construction Technology Program (FACT) to teach girls at Lucy Flower High School about careers in the trades. The program later becomes the Tradeswomen of Tomorrow Program. In response to renewed attacks on affirmative action, CWIT helps form the Coalition for Equal Opportunity and publishes "Building Equal Opportunity," our second major research report.
1996	The Tradeswomen of Tomorrow Program expands to work with girls in junior high school. The new program, Girls at Work (GAW) explores new career opportunities with girls in 7th and 8th grade through hands-on activities. CWIT wins the Exemplary Public Interest Contribution Award (EPIC) of the US Department of Labor for our contributions to promote affirmative action.
1998	The Technical Opportunities Program celebrates its 10th year and expands to provide more services to participants. The Health and Safety of Women in Construction (HASWIC) workgroup lead by CWIT and created by OSHA releases its report outlining the safety and health issues of women construction workers. The Aspiring Tradeswomen Program expands from one to eight (8) schools. The Manufacturing Opportunities for Women Program begins as a pilot program helping companies and training programs recruit, retain and advance women at their worksites. CWIT takes on a new WS2000 project at Chicago Public Schools Capital Improvement Program, developing monitoring guidelines and sexual harassment prevention policy and training for project contractors.
1999-2000	Benefiting from a Chicago Community Trust fellowship award, President Lauren Sugerman takes a year sabbatical to travel to meet tradeswomen in Nicaragua, Cuba, South Africa and Spain. She brings new ideas and international connections to CWIT. Julie Kruse, as interim-executive director strengthens CWIT's policy initiatives at a state level. CWIT moves into larger and brighter offices at 1657 W. Adams and staff expands. The Tradeswomen of Tomorrow Program wins top honors from the Women's Educational Equity Act and publishes the "Educator's Guide and Resource Binder." CWIT launches effort to help recipients of welfare access high-wage, high-skill jobs in construction and manufacturing.
2001	With the help of State Representative Julie Hamos, HB909 the Illinois First Job Opportunities Initiative passed the Illinois House unanimously after a successful CWIT Advocacy Day. CWIT serves as an advisor to the 2001 National Tradeswomen Conference, sponsored by the Maine Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Over 400 tradeswomen from across the country attend the inspiring and invigorating conference. The conference serves as a great launch for TNT, Tradeswomen Now and Tomorrow, the new national tradeswomen coalition of twenty organizations co-chaired by CWIT. Building on the struggles and success of two decades of organizing on behalf of tradeswomen CWIT kicks off our Twentieth Anniversary with a celebration dinner welcoming founding mothers, supporters and new members. Join us in our third decade to work for economic equity and full access to high-wage, high skill, blue-collar careers for all women!