Women of Heart and Steel featured the stories of three trade union women, Florence Criley, Alice Peurala, and Sylvia Woods, in a multi-media piece by Lisa Layer, Joan McGann Morris, and Mary Bonnett with music by Ken Morris.

The stories came primarily from Women Building Chicago, 1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary edited by Rima Schultz and Adele Hast.

It was presented at the gala at Roosevelt University on March 15, 2001, where Rima Schultz, the keynote speaker, was given the Mother Jones Award.

The play was later performed at the Chopin Theater on Sept. 25, 2001, at St. Xavier College on November 21, 2001, and at Indiana University Swingshift College in Gary, Indiana, on March 27, 2004. It was also shown on CAN TV-Channel 21.