| Abstract |
Louise was a hairdresser. Jackie was a cocktail waitress. How did these two women end up working on a construction site, high above the ground, welding two-ton iron beams together? Iron Ladies tells the story of 49 year-old Louise and 37 year-old Jackie, new ironworker apprentices who left their jobs to try the lucrative but dangerous trade of ironworking. Many men think women "just don t belong" in the ironworking trade. The work is heavy and dirty and risky. When erecting a building, the ironworkers are the only ones on the job site who aren t required to be "tied off" to the building with safety lines. A fall usually results in serious injuries or death; ironworkers have the highest fatality rates in the construction trades. The Los Angeles Ironworkers union has 3,000 men and eight women. The apprenticeship program is rigorous; only 30% make it through the three-year training. In this documentary, veteran women ironworkers tell stories of surviving as the only female working on a construction site. These stories are interwoven with footage of Louise and Jackie struggling through their training, meeting the challenges of the physically grueling program with fortitude and courage. They must also deal with issues of sexual harassment on the job, which they do in a refreshingly forthright manner. |
