Women’s History Month and Labor Leaders
This content is modified slightly from a 3/6/25 email I sent to UAEA members.
March is Women’s History Month and March 8th (this Saturday) is International Women’s Day, so I figured I’d take the time to highlight some women labor leaders from American history.
Slight aside - March 8th was the day selected as International Women’s Day…because of organized labor. I did a little research on this and while there’s a bit of a dispute over who created the holiday, all versions seem to agree that the first attempts were meant to recognize the contributions of women to economic and social reform. If you believe one version, Russia created their first International Women’s Day in 1917 to recognize the contribution of female protestors who helped kick off the Russian Revolution (the event that destroyed the Russian monarchy) on March 8th of that year. In another version, France created the first celebration of women on March 19th of 1911, to commemorate their contributions to society on the 40th anniversary of the Paris Commune (a militant movement which pushed for, among other things, an end to child labor). Finally, the most popular version told in the US is that March 8th commemorates a series of protests by women that occurred on March 8th of 1857 and 1908. New York City garment workers on both dates were protesting labor conditions - in 1857 they were mainly focused on ending the 16-hour workday, while in 1908 they were also protesting for voting rights (keep in mind that US women did not receive the right to vote nationally until the 19th Amendment in 1920). Whatever the reason, there’s a clear connection between celebrations of women and celebrations of their contributions to our working conditions today - let’s talk a little bit about the women who helped make those things happen:
Mary “Mother” Jones (1837-1930): Mary Jones was an American immigrant who faced discrimination in her early life for being Irish and Catholic. After working as a teacher, a housekeeper, and a dress maker, Mary lost her entire family to yellow fever. Five years later, she lost all of her possessions to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 - shortly after she joined the Knights of Labor, an early international labor federation which represented 800,000 workers by 1886. Mary worked as a strike organizer for silk mills, mines, and garment shops, and was well-known for organizing both workers and their families in demonstrations, an uncommon tactic at the time. In a 1902 trial dealing with her refusal to abide by an injunction against strikers, she was dubbed the “most dangerous woman in America” by the prosecution. Most US Presidents during this period knew her name and she met with several, including Calvin Coolidge, to discuss national labor conditions. Mary continued her organizing until the 1920s and died in 1930. 6 years after her death a group of grateful mine workers raised $16,000 ($350,000, adjusted for inflation) to build a 80 ton pink granite monument above her grave. The unveiling of this monument attracted an estimated 50,000 people.
Lucy Parsons (1851-1942): Lucy Parson’s early life is heavily debated. What’s generally known for certain is she was either married to or in a long-term relationship with labor organizer and anti-segregationist Albert Parsons. Both were involved in labor organizing across the Midwest and are credited for organizing the first ever “May Day” parade in 1886. This parade involved 80,000 people protesting for an 8 hour workday - 300,000 workers eventually went on strike to support this effort. The infamous “Haymarket Massacre” happened during this week - despite not being present at the time, Albert and 6 other unrelated people were tried and sentenced to death for their purported role in the crime. Lucy was already an established writer and speaker at the time and went on a speaking tour to raise money for an appeal. She was ultimately unsuccessful but continued to speak and write on labor organizing and social change for the rest of her life. She was well-known in both the US and Europe as one of the foremost thinkers on social change and used this influence to help cofound the International Workers of the World (IWW) group in 1905. (photo of Lucy is from the Library of Congress archives)
Francis Perkins (1880-1965): Francis Perkins was a sociologist and labor rights activist who became involved in the legislative side of labor after witnessing the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. This factory fire killed 146 women due to inadequate safety measures like a lack of fire escapes and the habit of the owners locking women inside during work hours. Perkins had several roles in New York City with Groups like the National Consumers League, the Committee on Safety in New York City, and the New York Industrial Commission - through them, she advocated for improved business fire safety standards and a shorter standard workweek. She eventually became both the first female Secretary of Labor in 1933 and was responsible for the Social Security Act, expanded federal child labor laws, the first minimum wage laws, and the first unemployment insurance policies. I think Francis is a great example for this list because her work proves that there are many techniques for improving labor conditions - while the traditional image of labor organizing conjures images of activists holding picket signs, sometimes change can come from people who are more passionate about working in an office or commission environment.
Jessie Lopez De La Cruz (1919-2013): Jessie worked as a produce picker in Orange County from the age of 5 and for most of her adult life. Around age 45 she and her husband became involved in the National Farmworkers Association (NFWA) - she was personally encouraged by Cesar Chavez to play a more active role. She organized farmers, provided translation assistance, pushed for co-op farming models, and fought against common practices like expensive company stores, worker pay being based on racial hierarchies, the injuries associated with improper farming equipment like the short-handled how, and the frequent theft of employee wages. Jessie worked as a picker and farmer for her entire life, even during her activist periods, and her family was eventually able to purchase their own farm in the 1970s. Some accounts claim that they were the first company to distribute cherry tomatoes at a national scale. At her funeral in 2013 the current UFW president referred to her as “one of the best organizers the UFW ever had.”
Dolores Huerta (1930-present): Dolores Huerta was born in California and attended segregated schools in the 1930s and 40s. She briefly served as a teacher before deciding she could do more good helping their parents fight for better working conditions She worked for the Community Service Organization (CSO), a Latino Civil rights group, helping create new chapters and lobby the California government for better working conditions. Due to frustrations of both the CSOs and the AFL-CIOs refusal to engage with farmworker struggles, she and Cesar Chavez founded the National Farmworkers Association (NFWA) in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). Dolores served as Vice President of UFW for 35 years - during this period she organized strikes and consumer boycotts of certain produce to force better working conditions. She is also credited with pioneering their slogan “si se puede.” Dolores is still involved in organizing - even today at the age of 94 she helps run the Dolores Huerta Foundation which helps organize neighborhoods to engage with their local and state governments.
I deliberately kept this list fairly limited - while I did a little research, these women were people whose work I was already familiar with. If you think of someone who deserves a spot on this list feel free to reach out - I’m more than happy to highlight additional people in coming months.