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Legislators honor Janesville woman on 90th birthday

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Doris Thom

JANESVILLE — Two Wisconsin legislators have issued a citation honoring a Janesville pioneer in the women’s labor movement.

State Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, and Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, are recognizing Doris Thom of Janesville on Monday, March 8—her 90th birthday.

Thom achieved several important firsts for women while working at Janesville’s General Motors plant.

Thom became the first female United Auto Workers Local 95 committee woman in 1960. She was elected to serve as recording secretary from 1961-968, becoming the first woman to sit on the executive board of UAW Local 95. She also filed a grievance that opened assembly line jobs to women.

In 1965, Thom was denied a transfer from the lower-paying cushion assembly line to the all-male trim department. With the newly passed Civil Right Act of 1964 on her side, she contacted the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. After winning her grievance, women were allowed to work plant wide.

Thom, a mother of three, was featured in Wisconsin Public Television’s “Step by Step: Building a Feminist Movement, 1941-1977.” She also is part of a University of Wisconsin oral history project highlighting women leaders in the state labor movement. Thom received the Catherine Conroy Award, honoring Wisconsin women dedicated to the rights of women and labor at the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Women’s Conference in 2001. Veteran Feminists of America honored her as an early Midwest feminist leader in 2004.

Thom’s accomplishments are cited online at the National Women’s Hall of Fame Book of Lives and Legacies, online at greatwomen.org.

Thom’s birthday is Monday, March 8.