UNIONS AND WOMEN'S TRAINING FOR THE SKILLED TRADES IN THE U.S. Giinseli Berik and Cihan Bilginsoy INTRODUCTION Historically, the ability of incumbent white males to control training for the skilled trades enabled them to exclude ethnic and racial minorities and women from these higher-paying occupations. The legislative changes following the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s broke down some of the obstacles faced by men of color. These groups entered training pro- grams in increasing numbers and over the following decades increased their share in the trades to levels commensurate with their shares in the overall labor force. Despite similar regulatory and legislative changes of the 1970s that targeted women's integration, however, women are still severely underrepresented in the skilled trades and in training for these trades. In this study, we analyze the variations in women's representation in apprenticeship programs across non-traditional occupations during the 1989-1995 period and identify the factors that influence women's par- ticipation in the trades. This analysis is carried out separately for white women, black women, and Latinas in order to assess differences by race. Since trade unions have long been blamed for discrimination in the crafts labor force, evaluation of their role in inhibiting or facilitating women's entry into training is the central question of this study. The argument against trade unions derives from their role in the orga- nization and administration of apprenticeship, which is the traditional method of training for the skilled trades. Apprenticeship is distinct from other forms of training in that it is a more structured and lengthy process that provides skills in all aspects of a craft and, similar to college educa- tion, starting an apprenticeship is a career decision. It also combines training and employment, so that the apprentice is required to secure a job in order to acquire the skills. Skill acquisition takes place under the supervision of an experienced worker, making mentoring a critical corn-