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Bananeras | Reviews
Book reveals strong women's labor movement in Central America
By Brian SealsSanta Cruz Sentinel, February 21, 2006
Dana Frank went to Central America in 2001 looking for the union label.
Well, actually, she was looking to help create a union label for banana workers.
What she found in the process were empowered women seeking labor and gender justice, a far cry from what she expected.
That realization evolved into a recently released book titled, Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America.
"There is this really incredible story of power," Frank said from her office at UC Santa Cruz, where she is a professor of history. "It's refuting this myth we have that Latin America women workers are passive victims."
The women that toil in the banana packing plants focus on labor conditions and negotiating agreements with companies like Chiquita and Dole.
In the process, they study up on broader issues like the Central America Free Trade Agreement and globalization, or more practical matters like self-esteem and the role of gender in the family.
"Those workshops were on par with women's studies at UCSC," Frank said. Frank went to the area as a consultant with the Chicago-based U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project.
She lived with women banana workers in Honduras, and traveled to places like Guatemala and Nicaragua where young workers attended workshops. (continue reading)
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