Belabored Podcast #99: Because of Sex, with Gillian Thomas

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act made it illegal for employers to discriminate “because of sex.” We talk with Gillian Thomas, author of a new book on the history of the Supreme Court’s rulings on that little phrase, which have shaped the experiences of millions of working people.

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We’ve talked before on Belabored about the outsize effect the Supreme Court can have on labor rights, and this week, we dig into some legal history—and legal present—with Gillian Thomas, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project and author of the new book Because Of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women’s Lives At Work. The book is the history of just one little phrase in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Thomas takes us through the ways the Supreme Court’s rulings on that little phrase have shaped the experiences of millions of working people—as you’ll learn, not just women, either.

We also get an update from the hotel workers who are locked in combat with none other than Donald Trump; we hear about a win for workers in Bernie Sanders’s home state of Vermont; we’ll hear about labor struggles at universities private and public, both of which Michelle has attended; and an inside look at a race, class, and inequality in city schools. Oh, and the Chicago Teachers Union may just make good on a promise Karen Lewis made to us way back on Belabored Episode 1.

On Wednesday, April 6, you’re invited to join us at 61 Local in Brooklyn to celebrate our 100th episode with a party and special live recording! We’ll talk with Mark Engler about his new book, This Is an Uprising, and party like the revolution already happened from 7:00 p.m. Join us!

News

Michelle: Donald Trump, Expert Negotiator, Refuses to Meet With His Unionizing Workers (The Nation)

Chicago Teachers Union Vows to “Shut the City Down” With One-Day Strike (DNAinfo)

Yale grad students start a union. Next, they must win bargaining rights (Washington Post)

Michelle: Yale Is Depriving Graduate Students of Their Rights (The Nation)

Bernie Sanders’ Home State Just Passed A Paid Sick Leave Law (Huffington Post)

Conversation

Gillian Thomas at the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project

Because Of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women’s Lives At Work

Argh, I Wish I’d Written That!

Sarah: Nick Pinto, Cuomo Bares Fangs At CUNY, Puts Final Nail InThe Coffin of His Own Progressivism (Village Voice)

Michelle: Anya Kamenetz, Turmoil Behind The Scenes At A Nationally Lauded High School (NPR)