“I saw injustice at work, so I helped on the organizing campaign . . . I waited for the International to send in the organizing army to get the job done. Then I realized I was the army.” That’s how union activist Susan Baxter-Flemings describes her first organizing experience.

Unions are good for women and women are good for unions. More and more women are entering the workforce and joining unions. Close to half of all workers are women, and nearly 45 percent of union members are women. Studies show that women are far more likely to join unions when the lead organizer is a woman.

Too often, though, women organizers feel isolated. Having support networks through training programs, conferences, and women’s committees can help women build skills and confidence in union work – especially when involvement in organizing is new and sometimes intimidating.

A key source of support is there for all women organizers – wherever they are. It’s a website by, for, and about women organizers: the Berger-Marks Foundation. Named for the Newspaper Guild’s first woman organizer, Edna Berger, and her husband, the legendary Tin Pan Alley songwriter Gerald Marks, the foundation seeks to bring the benefits of unions to working women and to help like-minded organizations. The foundation provides financial grants to women organizers, and assists women who want to organize other women through training, research, and other resources.

Special reports are available free on the website. They include: I Knew I Could Do This Work: Seven Strategies to Promote Women’s Activism and Leadership in Unions; Women Organizing Women: How Do We Rock the Boat Without Getting Thrown Overboard?; and Union Organizing Among Professional Women Workers. All are based on real-life experiences – interviews with women union activists – and offer strategies and techniques for effective organizing.

The website offers news, useful facts, and examples of innovative organizing campaigns. It’s here, it’s free, and it’s a goldmine of information that inspires and sparks ideas. Check it out and sign up for updates at www.bergermarks.org. It’s your source for support and ideas!