From ‘Bread and Roses’ to ‘Raises and Roses’

“Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin,’ barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin,’” my mom, grandma, and I crow in unison, drumming along to the beat of Dolly Parton’s iconic song on the interior of the car as we speed down I-10 East towards Palm Desert.

“They just use your mind, and they never give you credit. It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it.” 

All three of us are or have been Jewish women in the workforce, and our stories return to the central ideals of the 9to5 movement. The 9to5 union fought for economic equality and workplace justice, but their main goal was to be respected by their male peers and to be afforded the same opportunities. The union itself began in Boston and spread all around the country, particularly in city centers where women were working secretarial jobs. Leaders used anger as a driving force for their collective action. 

My grandma did office work in New York in the 1960s while the 9to5 movement was beginning. She had a difficult time getting jobs because her interviewers assumed she’d stop working in a couple of years once she’d had kids. She often experienced sexual harassment and other forms of disrespect from male bosses and coworkers. She frequently attempted to play off the harassment to make the perpetrator look ridiculous. When explaining her work history to me, my grandma made it very clear that she was not part of the 9to5 movement. Although many of her stories sounded similar to those of 9to5 union members, she took a different resistance tactic. While the 9to5 movement was fighting the system, my grandma was figuring out how to play the system and use it to her advantage. The best proof was her success. 

I figured that Jewish women like my grandma were a part of the unions, but my glossed-over image of the movement only included conventionally attractive, gentile white women. The movie, song, and musical inspired by the movement overshadowed its true purveyors—young and fiery Jewish feminists like union co-founders, Ellen Cassedy and Karen Nussbaum.

Cassedy and Nussbaum encouraged underpaid and undervalued women in dead-end jobs to fight for equal pay and respect from male bosses. As secretaries themselves, Cassedy and Nussbaum spread the movement from their office break rooms to the streets of major cities such as Boston. Cassedy adapted Rose Schniedermann’s “Bread and Roses” slogan from the 1910s labor movement into “Raises and Roses” as a way of connecting their work to powerful women from the past. “We founders of the 9to5 movement were keenly aware of the chain of activism that stretched back to those garment workers,” explains Cassedy in an interview with The Workers Circle. 

The women of the 9to5 movement were incredibly effective at organizing strikes and protests, capturing media attention, and supporting one another. They left a lasting legacy that has made me hyper-aware of what behaviors are considered proper workplace conduct. 

The chain has been active in my family for generations. My chain of activism began when I listened to my mom in work meetings through the door of her office as a young child. When learning to be a stage manager at my high school, I attempted to emulate her tough compassion. My mom entered the tech industry at a similarly hostile time for women, and bro culture remains in the field today. Just as I learned from my mom, she learned from watching my grandma start her jewelry business in Los Angeles. This chain stretches all the way back to my Great Grandma Hilda, who, despite her lack of education and resources, was my Grandma’s first feminist influence. Hilda urged my grandma, who urged my mom, who urged me to use my voice and go out into the world.

While they made exemplary progress, the 9to5 movement still has unfinished business. Women have more opportunities now than they did before 9to5, but each solution creates a new set of problems. They are expected to balance fulfilling careers while being dedicated mothers. Essentially, they balance two full-time jobs. The clearest example of 9to5’s pervasive work is the pay gap. In 1972, when the official 9to5 union was created, women earned 58 cents for every dollar a man earned. Now, we earn 82.7 cents on the dollar. To continue the chain of activism, it’s my generation’s job to bring attention back to these same issues. America is in a drought of hope, and we need some powerful Jewish second-wave feminists to remind us that we have a voice. The 9to5 movement is a perfect example of celebrating the little wins in service of a bigger goal. By making each step a milestone, we get to feel like we’re really moving forward. We deserve to celebrate the little wins in service of our bigger goal. The movement itself left the public consciousness too soon for the changes to be long-lasting. It’s time to put 9to5 back on our playlists and TV screens.

In an interview with the Workers Circle, Ellen Cassedy references Rabbi Tarfon’s idea of making progress on the enduring work of justice while not being obligated to completely finish it. “[Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: Lo alecha ham’lacha ligmor. V’lo atah ben chorin libatel mimenah. It is not upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” 

It’s our responsibility as Jews, and as women, to be activists. Neither Cassedy nor I is responsible for completing the work. The chain of activism that stretches back to my great-grandmother will continue with my children. 

As I’m entering the workforce, I hope to chip away at the blockade. When men assume I don’t know how to use power tools or lift heavy things, I will silently prove them wrong. If somebody specifically asks for a man to help, I’ll make eye contact across the room with the only other girl there.