UNION HISTORY

Frances (Fannie) Perkins Frances was born on April 10, 1882 in Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1902, and Columbia University in 1910 with a master's degree in sociology. In 1910 she became head of the New York Consumer's League, lobbying for better working hours and conditions. In 1933, President Roosevelt appointed her Secretary of Labor and she became the first woman to hold a cabinet position in the United states. Trained as a social worker, Frances worked in settlement houses in Chicago (Hull House) and Philadelphia, and was involved in the reform efforts spawned by the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Co. Fire in New York City. Through effective relationships with the state governments, she strengthened labor law enforcement by the states. She was also the principal architect of the Social Security Act. Frances served 12 years, 3 months (longer than any other Secretary). She went on to serve as a Member of the Civil Service Commission. the Department of Labor Headquarters was named after her in 1980. Frances was inducted into the Labor Hall of Fame in 1988.

Kate Mullaney A True Labor Pioneer: It was a cold snowy February morning when Kate Mullaney left her home at 34 North 2nd Street in Troy, New York, waved goodbye to her widowed mother, Bridget, her older sister Mary, her two younger sisters and her brother Frank to walk to her job at the laundry. Kate and Mary had been born in Ireland and immigrated to America with their parents. After the death of their father, and because of their mother’s ill health they decided that Mary would stay home to care for the family and Kate would become the breadwinner.

As she walked along River Street, the ice-cold wind off the Hudson River swirled the snow around her 19-year-old body and chilled her to the bone. Although she shivered from the cold she knew that after a few minutes in the laundry she would welcome the cold wind and fresh air. To take her mind off the cold she began to go over her plan to organize her co-workers and form a union.

Mother Jones "I was born in the city of Cork, Ireland, in 1830. My people were poor. For generations they had fought for Ireland's freedom. Many of my folks have died in that struggle. My father, Richard Harris, came to America in 1835, and as soon as he had become an American citizen he sent for his family. His work as a laborer with railway construction crews took him to Toronto, Canada. Here I was brought up but always as the child of an American citizen. Of that citizenship I have ever been proud."

Emma Goldman was a legend in her own lifetime. Born in Lithuania on 27th June 1869, she emigrated to the United States with her sister Helena in 1885. Like so many other East European immigrants, she found work in a clothing factory. The following year four Chicago anarchists were executed.

They had been prominent trade union activists leading the struggle for an eight-hour day. Framed for a bombing, the authorities hoped that this would scare off the emerging trade union movement, especially its anarchist component. The international outcry which followed these executions on trumped up charges helped to shape Emma's radical and anarchist ideals, which lasted throughout her long life.

The twentieth century labour movement in North America produced a unique orator and union organizer; a 16 year old girl, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. The 'rebel girl' as she was known, became a 'star' in a constellation of well known labour organizers and orators; Big Bill Haywood, and Emma Goldman to name just two. The American Labour movement of the nineteenth century had produced several famous women orators such as Lucy Parsons, Mother Jones, etc. but most of them were more mature than Flynn.

In this day and age of 14 year old girls becoming overnight country singing sensations, and with youthful television and movie superstars, it is hard to imagine the impact this Flynn had. There were no radios, no TVs, no computers interfaces, back then. Labour organizers had to be able to not only talk to individuals but address whole audiences, sometimes crowds of several thousand would throng to hear an un-amplified speaker.

That such a young girl could hold thousands spellbound was no minor feat, and the admiration for her abilities stayed with her for years after. That she could, in 1962, hold a class of university students spellbound while reminiscing, without the use of a prepared speech or notes, shows the power and ability that gave Elizabeth Gurley Flynn her fame.

She became a major campaigner for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a voice for the oppressed and exploited in America. It was a vocation she continued even after the IWW was eclipsed.

Her memories of the IWW are not with out errors due to her age, nor the taint of the political ideology she espoused, but even with these caveats they remain honest and direct. Her voice speaks directly to the reader, as if the events she described happened only yesterday rather than over 80 years ago. Although limited by the printed page, even when reading, one can imagine her voice as an orator.

HAYMARKET MASSACRE: On May 4, 1886 a town meeting was called in Chicago's Haymarket Square by anarchists and labor activists. As the peaceful assembly came to a close, 180 police officers stormed the meeting, demanding it disburse. Suddenly an unknown assailant threw a bomb into the crowd killing a police officer and injuring several others. The police responded instantly by shooting and clubbing wildly into the crowd, killing 7 other fellow police officers, injuring 60 more and killing and injuring an unknown number of civilians at the meeting. This event, and the episode that followed in its wake, known as the Haymarket affair, the Haymarket massacre or the Haymarket tragedy, is the single historic event for which Lucy Parsons is best remembered. Although it was only part of Lucy's long and tireless activist legacy, the Haymarket affair drew international attention to the American anarchist movement and became a historic landmark in anarchist and labor history. The Haymarket affair grew out of the campaign for the 8 hour workday.