One day while reporting to her job as an elevator constructor, Christina Herzog discovered something near her workbench that had clearly been left for her–a long penis made of pipe caulk.
The group recently launched a program called Worksite 2000 in an attempt to increase the number of women construction workers and to improve their working conditions. They’re now working with contractors at four work sites: the Cook County Jail expansion, the McCormick Place expansion, the renovation of the Juvenile Detention Center, and the construction of the new downtown post office.
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“Without intervention of someone in authority, like the general contractors, women don’t work. And if they do work they get treated very poorly,” says Laurie LeBreton, coordinator for Worksite 2000. “Basically, all we’re asking is that women be hired and then allowed to do their work in peace.”
“It’s true that some of our complaints have to do with general working conditions that affect all workers, men as well as women,” says Herzog. “For instance, on a lot of sites the toilets are absolutely disgusting. That’s not just a women’s issue, that’s an issue that affects men too.”
Herzog began as an apprentice making half the pay of full-fledged union mechanics. “It’s a tough apprenticeship,” she says. “We’re all green when we come off the street. You have to start somewhere and someone has to teach you. And they’re tough on you. You’re basically an ignoramus, and that’s how they treat you. They’ll say stuff like, ‘What are you, stupid?’ Or ‘How many times do I have to tell you this, dummy?’ We all go through it. That’s part of the learning experience.”
A few weeks ago Herzog and about 12 other women construction workers gathered for an after-work rap session sponsored by Women in Trades. Over pizza and pop they began the meeting sounding as impervious to on-the-job pressures as any of their macho male colleagues.
