Working with 9to5 In 1972, she co-founded
9to5: Organization for Women Office Workers with
Ellen Cassedy. 9to5 is an organization that addressed issues female office workers faced, such as sexual harassment. Women became a driving force during the labor movement by leading woman-dominated unions and associations. Female unionists and feminists came together during the 9to5 movement which benefitted both organizations. The labor movement gained female workers and support while the feminists became a much stronger and a recognized feminist union. The 9to5 organization eventually helped create a labor union for female office workers in 1975. As a radical activist, Nussbaum realized that her job in life was to organize powerful unions for groups overlooked by the labor movement. In 1977, 9to5 Boston merged with Cleveland Women Working (est. 1975 primarily by Helen Williams) to create the Cleveland-based Working Women Organizing Project. Based in Cleveland from 1977 to 1993, the national organization was a coalition of like-minded associations and was headed by Nussbaum. (The name was later changed to 9to5: National Association of Women Office Workers.) In 1978, Karen Nussbaum became the director. In 1981, 9to5 worked as a partner with the
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) known as District 925. During the partnership with the union, she served as director from 1981 to 1993.
Later work During the
Clinton Administration, Nussbaum served as the director of the
Women's Bureau in the
United States Department of Labor from 1993 to 1996. During this time, Nussbaum noticed that women's health problems due to the workplace often go unreported and unnoticed. Most reported workplace hazards for women are identified as fertility issues, although there are few regulations to protect female workers from fertility hazards. Nussbaum states that she "plans to work closely with the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) " to act as an advocate for workplace safety on a gender-specific basis. which described the things that working women in the U.S. want and what they are looking to the Administration for. The survey entailed questions asking working women about their jobs where she found a similarity among the complaints. Nussbaum hopes to educate women about their workplace rights regarding the
Pregnancy Discrimination Act,
Civil Rights Act, and the
Family and Medical Leave Act. Later on in life, Nussbaum involved herself with
Washington D.C.–based labor union
AFL–CIO. In 1996 she served as the head of the AFL-CIO's new Working Women's Department. During her time, a study by her group found that nearly half of the wage gap between men and women is accredited to discrimination. She stated, "One of the biggest reasons for the narrowing of the gap was that many high-paying manufacturing jobs held by men have gone overseas".
Awards and achievements • She was inducted into the
Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1984 • Founding Director of
Working America • Co-founded the
9to5 movement • Co-founded the
AFL-CIO • Director of the
Women's Bureau • “9to5: The Working Women’s Guide to Office Survival” by Ellen Cassedy and Karen Nussbaum, Penguin Books, 1983 • “Solutions for the New Workforce” by John Sweeney and Karen Nussbaum, Seven Locks Press, 1989 • Chapter in “The Sex of Class”, edited by Dorothy Sue Cobble, ILR Press 2007. “Working Women’s Insurgent Consciousness" • A member of "Working America" Foundation, the organization is AFL-CIO, and is designed to help the labors in non-government organizations. Karen's works feature women, labor, politics, and culture! == Bibliography ==