More than 200 women labor organizers gathered for one of the first national events of its kind, March 30 to April 1, in New York City. During the conference, "Sisters on the Frontline: Organizing Women, Building Power," women leaders showcased traditional and nontraditional organizing drives and identified the bottom line for women organizers in the labor movement: to enlarge women's presence in the labor ranks to achieve equality and economic security.

The event was sponsored by Cornell's Institute for Women and Work, the Cornell Labor Program and the Joseph S. Murphy Center for Labor, Community and Policy Studies, City University of New York.

Officials and staff from national labor organizations shared their perspectives on leading organizing drives in labor and work-related community associations to organize more women workers across the country.

According to Francine Moccio, director of Cornell's Institute for Women and Work, the conference addressed issues of gender, class, race and sexual preference when organizing women workers.

For example, in speaking before a March 30 panel on the Berger Marks Report, which challenges labor organizations to address the need to recruit and retain women organizers and to recruit more women, Moccio said:

"Women of color are leading a silent and sometimes not so silent revolution in today's society. ... Their fight is our fight. This conference, its speakers and participants represent the new face of the third wave of 21st century feminism."