Working 9 to 5: A Women's Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie

by Ellen Cassedy

"A must-read for any activist or reader in search for a piece of inspiration." —Liz Shuler, president, AFL-CIO

2022 Sarton Awards Finalist for Memoir
2023 Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medalist - Women's Issues category

9 to 5 wasn't just a comic film—it was a movement built by Ellen Cassedy and her friends.

Ten office workers in Boston started out sitting in a circle and sharing the problems they encountered on the job. In a few short years, they had built a nationwide movement that united people of diverse races, classes, and ages.

They took on the corporate titans. They leafleted and filed lawsuits and started a woman-led union. They won millions of dollars in back pay and helped make sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination illegal.

The women office workers who rose up to win rights and respect on the job transformed workplaces throughout America. And along the way came Dolly Parton's toe-tapping song and a hit movie inspired by their work.

Working 9 to 5 is a lively, informative, firsthand account packed with practical organizing lore that will embolden anyone striving for fair treatment.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Labor, Historical, Gender, Womens

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2022

About the author

Ellen Cassedy was a founder of 9 to 5, the movement of working women that mobilized for rights and respect on the job. "Working 9 to 5" is a first-person account of how a racially diverse group of women took on the corporate titans, organized a union, won victories from coast to coast – and inspired Jane Fonda’s hit movie and Dolly Parton’s enduring anthem.

In "We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust," Ellen Cassedy’s journey to connect with her Jewish family roots expands into a wider quest, offering hope for a more tolerant future. Winner of the Grub Street National Book Prize for Nonfiction, shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.

Ellen Cassedy is a translator from Yiddish. "Oedipus in Brooklyn and Other Stories by Blume Lempel" (with Yermiyahu Ahron Taub) blends the realistic and the fantastic, the lyrical and the philosophical. Winner of the Leviant Memorial Prize from the Modern Language Association. "On the Landing: Stories by Yenta Mash" makes a major contribution to the literature of immigration and resilience.

Reviews

[Susan Tunis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former office worker in Boston, the city where this movement began, I can't believe that this is the first whisper I've ever heard of these historic events! (And who knew the classic film "9 to 5" was partly inspired by an actual organization?) This is an absolutely amazing story at the intersection of feminism and labor. 9 to 5 was born from the most modest seeds imaginable in the early 70s, when I was a toddler and my mother was a professional working secretary. Twenty years later, when I was an admin in Boston, the women in this organization had CHANGED THE WORLD. For me. And I never knew the details until now. Thank you for teaching me, Ellen Cassedy.

This IS history, and it is important to teach and record it. But reading this also gives me another opportunity to say THANK YOU to the generation of women before me. My mother's generation. You fought so hard, and my life is immeasurably better for it--a fact I'm not at all sure younger people fully appreciate.

I felt a lot of rage reading about what women workers had to put up with in the past, in part because it was outrageous and disgusting. But also in part because by no means is it all in the past. Name your outrage; it's still happening today. I continue to be grateful for the strides that we have all made, but ladies... Keep fighting the good fight!

[Jimmy Tarlau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of the Working Women's Organization 9 to 5. Cassedy makes the book very readable interspersing her own personal journey with that of the organization. It is really interesting to see how the organization and the movie 9 to 5 worked together to produce the hit film. It is also interesting how the non traditional attempts to organize workers are now being reproduced today in the upsurge of union struggles going on at Starbucks, amazon and the tech industry.

[Dick Cluster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read and a great resource. Lots of useful nuts and bolts for today's organizers for rights, respect, and social change, as well as compelling social history of the women's and labor movements of the 1970s and '80s. And it's a memoir as well as a history: the movement and its members take center stage, but at the same time there's enough personal story to let you know that a real individual is talking to you about what she did, saw, and felt.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A valuable read (or listen, as it was for me) to better understand the U.S. history of gender pay inequity and workplace discrimination, and how everyday people can change a whole country and influence global industry practices with organization, persistence, visibility and advocacy. This story is a strong reminder to us all to lend our platform to others for the sake of change.

[Stephanie Blank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, informative, and radical! Extra points for Philly mentions <3 no Wawa reference though :/

[Esonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this a whole lot, just not the de-stresser I need right now.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important part of women's History, and now more than ever we need more of these stories.

[University of Chicago Magazine]

Ellen Cassedy, EX’72
Author

Read our piece on the 9to5 organization, "A cup of ambition" (Winter/23): https://mag.uchicago.edu/law-policy-s...

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed reading this historical narrative about the women's rights group 9 to 5. Sadly for me I need to brush up on my women's rights history. I wasn't aware that 9 to 5 was an actual group and not just a catchy movie title. I was very interested to learn about its grassroots start from a handful of girls to a huge group full of women. It also enlightened me to all the thought that goes behind the actions of such an organization. For one, I never would have thought of sending someone off to a college course to learn about how to effectively protest, but after hearing about it does make sense. I would have been one of the people out there just handing out pamphlets thinking I was making a difference when I really needed to be pulling those people into conversation. This book gave me great respect for all the hard and sadly forgotten work women of the past have put forth to make us more equal members of society.

Now this book while short is definitely not one I can finish in one sitting. This book gives us examples of the horrible conditions that some women had to work in and it is just hard to stomach. I can see how much better the office environment that women work in has gotten better, but I can also recall a couple of supervisors of mine would do the same things of the past if society hadn't changed. Take it slow with this book and take breaks when you need it. This book is worth the read.

[B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting primarily because all of the issues addressed by the early women's movement (through the 80s) are still present today. While the movement did a lot (through the 80s), it fell off hard in the 90s, and most of the forward movement made by the group has backslid to conditions worse than before. Ultimately, while the first 3/4 of the book were fascinating, the last fourth showed how everything dropped off, leaving things as they are now. It went from motivational to wholly disheartening just like *that*.

While this book paired decently well with This Book is Not About Benedict Cumberbach by Tabitha Carvan, I'd say that Cassedy's book is good for reading about historical events while Carvan's book is better for understanding ways to move forward now (even though Carvan's book isn't about the labor movement directly). Ultimately, Cassedy's book was rather a let down, particularly compared to other books on the labor movement that I've read over the past few years.

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an energetic account of the story behind the movie and it is eye-opening. Fed-up office workers in Boston did the hard and persistent work--and literally changed history by organizing for a cause-- to change not only the law but transform organizational culture to bring about fair treatment of women in the workplace, and their astonishing accomplishments are detailed by one of the founders, Ellen Cassedy. We have them to thank for sexual harassment laws and anti-discrimination protection for pregnant workers. This is a brief read that really should be essential reading, especially today when the country's pendulum is swinging so extremely in the other direction. Adult.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting but not my favorite… I thought it would be more about Dolly patron’s song 9 to 5 but it was about feminism and speeches, and breaking the glass ceiling, and women in the work force. I’m thankful for those women. They’ve paved the way! But, I didn’t love the book. It was kind of boring at times.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refresher course on labor conditions for female clerical workers in the mid to late 20th century and the story of the organization that attacked those conditions, 9 to 5. I belonged to this union in the 1980s when it was in its infancy and can attest to it's good works, which inspired the movie 9 to 5.

[Niamh · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a breath of fresh air to review the enormous strides made in response to organizing. It gives me hope to know that if a group of young women could change the world up until this point, there’s no reason that I can’t continue that legacy now. I’m reminded that I need to embrace patience with myself when being stonewalled or confronting adversaries.

[Kimmie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. It made the labor organzing history from the 1970s to today an inspiring experience. Anyone who is in a union should read this. Anyone who doesn't know what unions are about should read this. It is very eye opening about the fight for everyone to be treated fairly.

[Kathryn]

3 stars. Although, I found this interesting,since I did not know some of what was covered; there were parts that I found somewhat boring. Overall this book was only okay. This has made me want to watch the movie, 9 to 5 from the early 80s.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great look at our recent women's movement - 50 years to present. Interesting to look behind the true start of these grassroots organizations. I struggled with the writing style and finding the concrete action plans behind the actions.

[Victor Soupene · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare to finish a book about labor and feel good about what you read. However, Cassedy told a riveting story about the struggles and triumphs the 925 overcame to bring justice to women across US. Very well done!

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative and interesting read about this little known labor movement in the 1970s. Not only was it the direct inspiration for the film 9 to 5, it had an incredible impact on workers and women's rights in the workplace.

[MMelania · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was really interesting to read about the mechanism behind the birth of such an important movement and all the hard work and relentless people that made it possible.

[Brie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very eye opening. All the work they did and still so much more to do.