Solidarity Betrayed

A lifelong labour activist lifts the lid on sexual harassment in the trade union movement

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In the years since #MeToo, a fundamental shift in public consciousness about sexual harassment in the workplace has taken root. So what are trade unions, whose mission it is to improve the lives of workers, doing to address sexual harassment?



Solidarity Betrayed critiques the US labour movement's failures on the taboo subject of sexual harassment. Ana Avendaño draws on decades of organising experience to provide a compelling insider's account of trade unions' complicity, collusion, victim blaming and lack of perpetrator accountability.



Sharing survivors' stories and examples of how labour leaders and bureaucrats have perpetrated abuse, Avendaño explores how labour laws and practices are accomplices in perpetuating harassment, and how women labour leaders are too often enablers. She concludes with examples of what some unions are already doing to address the problem, and offers aspirational recommendations that unions and their allies can adopt to create harassment-free workplaces.