I am proud to be speaking here today at the Teamsters Women Conference dedicated to increasing and strengthening the role that women play in our union and expanding the ranks of Teamster women through organizing. Over the past quarter of a century and more, as millions of women in have joined the work force, we have seen women become a major part of the labor movement and the Teamsters union. Over a third of our Teamsters membership is made up of working women. Teamster women work in nearly every occupation, from nurses to truck drivers, from construction workers to police, from clerical workers to factory workers, from flight attendants to pilots.
Polls show that women are strong union supporters.
But we know that Teamster women are the strongest of all. Like all workers, they want jobs that offer good and wages benefits, jobs that can allow them to raise a family, jobs that offer dignity and respect. Like all working people, women want affordable health care, paid family leave, better pensions and Social Security, and stronger affirmative-action laws. They are sick and tired of making 73 cents for every dollar a man makes. By organizing .