User:Astonzia/Willmar 8
Eight female bank employees of the Citizens National Bank in Willmar Minnesota, USA went on strike on December 16, 1977 over charges of sex discrimination. The tellers and bookkeepers were protesting unequal pay and unequal opportunities for advancement[1].
Poplularly known as "The Willmar 8", the women were Doris Boshart, Irene Wallin, Sylvia Erickson Koll, Jane Harguth Groothuis, Sandi Treml, Teren Novotny, Shirley Solyntjes, Glennis Ter Wisscha[2]
Reaction[edit]
"The women's strike caused stress for many in the Western Minnesota town of 14,000 people. Few outwardly showed support for the strike and the lawyer who took the women's case, John Mack, lost his position as county chair of the Republican Party."[3]
From outside Willmar, some women's and labor groups as well as private individuals supported the strike in various ways.
Outcome[edit]
In the summer of 1979 the National Labor Relations Board issued a ruling on the complaint. The NLRB determined that the bank was guilty of unfair labor practices, but those practices did not cause the strike. The NLRB ruled that the strike was “economic.” As a result of this decision there was no back pay and no guarantee of the women recovering their jobs .[3]
Rhoda R. Gilman, the author of The Story of Minnesota's Past observed that "across Minnesota and elsewhere, banks quietly began to make some changes." [4]
In 1981 Lee Grant directed a documentary on the the Willmar 8 entitled, "The Willmar 8". [5]
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ The New York Times (UPI) (December 17, 1978). "Women Still On Strike In Bank Sex Bias Case". The New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kimberly Wilmot Voss (May 3, 2003). "'Willmar 8' Earn Rank as Equal-Pay Pioneers". Women's eNews.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Asa Wilson. "Decades later, Willmar 8 are heroes to a new generation". Workday Minnesota. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ Rhoda R. Gilman (1991). The Story of Minnesota's Past. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 0873512677, 9780873512671.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) - ^ "The Willmar 8". IMDB. May 3, 2003. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
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