On this day in Labor History the year was 1906. That was the day the world lost a great champion of woman’s and worker’s rights, Susan B. Anthony.
Born in 1820 in Massachusetts to a Quaker family.
Susan B. Anthony is most well-known for her tireless campaign to secure the right to vote for women.
But did you know she was also a staunch supporter women’s rights in the workplace?
She experienced the unequal treatment of women in the workforce first-hand.
In 1848 Anthony was a teacher in New York where she discovered that male teachers earned $10 a month to teach, while women only earned $2.50.
Anthony became involved in the Teachers Union, continually advocating for equal pay and advancing the call for the eight hour work day.
She encouraged women excluded from participation in the labor movement by men, to form their own labor organizations and in 1870 she helped to found the Working Woman’s Central Association.
Anthony was often rebuffed and ignored by men in her efforts to give women a greater voice in the labor movement.
In 1869, she took a controversial stand during a strike of union printers in New York.
During the strike, she encouraged women to participate in training programs to teach them the print trade during the strike.
She believed that this would prove that women could do the job as well as men. Because of her stance many within labor labeled her a strike-breaker.
In the decades that followed, Anthony continued to build relationships with labor, and encouraged women to participate in trade unionism.
One of Susan B. Anthony’s most often repeated quotes was “Join the union, girls, and together say equal pay for equal work.” A call to action that still resonates today.
Labor History in 2:00 brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society and The Rick Smith Show