Checkpoint 2. The nexus of agitation is often the workplace itself. As blue collar employees, women are prone to mistreatment and must endure any and all scrutiny imposed by their co-workers on a daily basis. As is often the case in situations where women are the victims of such mistreatment, isolation often occurs as these women feel they have no one to go to. This is especially prevalent in cases where women, in predominantly male oriented jobs advance to higher levels than the men approve of. Jean Alonso, leader of Women's Action Group noted that, "The attacks were attempts to intimidate the women and to force them to give up their positions. The attacks were gross in nature: smearing of faces, taunting about menstrual blood, and men exposing themselves. Men even formed a 'women- haters clubs' (The Progressive, August 1996 v60 n8 p36[3])." While this claim may seem preposterous, keep in mind that this is a regular occurrence and does not even near an extreme. For some women, their union can be a source of support. Unfortunately, this is not true for everyone.

There have been cases where women who were seeking some form of aid from their union, met with more harassment than at their jobs. In one case, according to Linda Layton, of the International Association of Machinists District 143, "the union representative was sexually harassing female agents"(The Progressive, August 1996).