Women Labor Leaders
She was a labor organizer and child labor abolitionist known as a fiery agitator for coal miners’ union rights.
Mother Jones
She wrote “Remember the ladies” to her husband and became the second First Lady of the United States.
Abigail Adams
This 1912 Lawrence, Massachusetts textile strike involved mostly immigrant workers and was led by the IWW.
Bread and Roses Strike / Lawrence Textile Strike
This is the largest organization of working women in the country, with nearly half of its 12.5 million members being women.
AFL-CIO
This symbol became popular through the international labor movement and was later used by Black Power, Women’s Liberation, and Gay Liberation movements.
Raised Fist
She helped establish the United Farm Workers of America and later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Dolores Huerta
She was born in Adams, Massachusetts, and became a major leader in the women’s suffrage movement.
Susan B. Anthony
This term describes the increase in workplace strikes in 2023 across industries like Hollywood, nursing, teaching, and auto manufacturing.
Hot Labor Summer
This AFL-CIO constituent group advocates for African-American trade unionists and was first led by Bayard Rustin.
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
This traditional union rally song was written by Ralph Chaplin in 1915 and later included verses about women in the union.
“Solidarity Forever”
She was a New England labor leader in the 1840s who fought for a ten-hour workday in Massachusetts.
Sarah Bagley
She co-founded Hull House in Chicago and helped establish the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Jane Addams
This 1914 attack on striking coal miners and their families in Colorado killed 25 people, including 11 children.
Ludlow Massacre
These local AFL-CIO groups are made up of many unions in an area and represent workers at the community level.
Central Labor Councils
Clara Zetkin proposed this holiday in 1910, and it is now celebrated in March.
International Women’s Day
She was the first woman to serve as International President of SEIU, serving from 2010 to 2024.
Mary Kay Henry
She was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree and helped organize the first National Women’s Rights Convention.
Lucy Stone
In 1945, mostly African American women workers walked off the job at this South Carolina factory to protest low wages and discrimination.
Charleston Cigar Factory Strike
This organization formed in 1903 as one of the first organizations for women workers after women were excluded by the AFL.
Women’s Trade Union League
Also called Labor Day in some countries, this May holiday celebrates laborers and the working classes.
International Workers’ Day / May Day
She is the current president of the AFL-CIO and the first woman to hold that office.
Liz Shuler
She was the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet and helped develop Social Security policy in 1935.
Frances Perkins
In 1881, thousands of Black women laundresses went on strike for higher wages, respect, and control over their work.
Atlanta Washerwomen’s Strike
She was the first person of color elected to one of the AFL-CIO federation’s three highest offices.
Linda Chavez-Thompson
This 1911 NYC disaster killed 146 garment workers, mostly young immigrant women and girls, and inspired major labor reforms.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire