509 4th Ave E
Olympia
WA 98501
Join us for an evening with former electrical tradeswoman Megan Cornish.
About the book:
A compelling account of pioneering electrical tradeswomen whose fight against job harassment changed their workplace, their union, and their city. In High Voltage Women: Breaking Barriers at Seattle City Light, Roslyn-based historian Ellie Belew captures the drama, the events, and the personalities of a landmark affirmative action effort in the electrical trades that began in Seattle in the early 1970s. The extensively researched account covers 25 years of city politics and combined union and civil rights activism.
About the reader:
Megan Cornish recently completed a speaking tour to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City on High Voltage Women. From her college days in the 1960s, Cornish participated in civil rights and antiwar protests. As a member of Seattle Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party, she was arrested as part of civil disobedience in support of United Construction Workers Association. After the Electrical Trades Trainees won reinstatement at Seattle City Light , Cornish advanced from the position of helper to senior station operator, and later became the first female senior power dispatcher. She retired as an outage dispatcher, the highest position in the utility trades. Throughout her career at City Light, Cornish continued to organize and lead political and legal challenges toward a safer, non-discriminatory workplace. Retiring after 30 years at City Light, Cornish continued her activism and now writes and edits for the Freedom Socialist newspaper. She is co-author of Viva la Raza: A History of Chicano Identity and Resistance.
