Women's History Month: Sneiderman’s history in the labor movement

Continuing our Women’s History Month coverage, Marilyn Sneiderman, Executive Director of the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization (CIWO) at Rutgers University, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss her work to engage members and improve diversity with AFSCME, Teamsters and AFL-CIO. Sneiderman then discussed her work with CIWO and how she hopes it will help strengthen the labor movement's future.

An Erie, Pa. native, Sneiderman was shaped living in the “Rust Belt” and seeing firsthand the importance of providing protections for workers. Her resume features a lot of positions that would impact change in unions. She began this work nationally as the Community Action Coordinator for AFSCME in the 1980s. From there, Sneiderman would join Ron Carey, former President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Together with Carey, she was able to host the union's first Civil Rights Conference and Women’s Conference where they were able to reengage with members.

Her work with the Teamsters didn’t go unnoticed. She received a call from the AFL-CIO to become the Field Mobilization Director. Sneiderman became the first woman to hold that role at the national level and began efforts to change the look of leadership to include more women and people of color. Her work at the AFL-CIO was best highlighted through the Union Cities project, an ambitious program to strengthen the American union movement in 1997. Sneiderman talked about the program developing strong union communities and building that up to the county, state and federal levels.

Today, Sneiderman continues her work as the Executive Director of CIWO. The Center was designed after thorough discussions with labor leaders to discover what was missing from the labor movement. There they have created programs dedicated to supporting leaders, developing innovative strategies and improving diversity. Leadership, organizing and innovation are the cornerstones of the Center’s work, Sneiderman said. She hopes this work will improve the quality and standards of unions as the next generation begins to take on leadership roles.

Listen to the show above to hear more about Sneiderman’s work in Labor. You can also read her and her husband’s work here: Making Hope and History Rhyme: A New Worker Movement from the Shell of the Old