workingclasshistory:

On this day, 23 November 1909, more than 20,000 garment workers in New York, mostly Jewish women and girls, walked out on a general strike: the biggest stoppage of women workers in the US to date.
Around 30,000 people, mostly Yiddish-speakers, laboured in New York’s 600 shirtwaist (blouse) factories. The majority of workers were women, designated as “learners” or “semiskilled”, earning from $3-$12 per week, whereas more senior roles were almost exclusively performed by men, earning $15-$23 per week. The American Federation of Labor focused almost entirely on organising the men.
But wildcat strikes by women workers in three enterprises, including the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, broke out in the summer and autumn of 1909 for better pay, better conditions, an end to sexual harassment, and better safety. With the strikers’ resources depleted, rather than concede defeat, they called for a general strike to shut down the whole industry. On November 22, thousands of women gathered at Cooper Union. Various mostly male union leaders spoke, urging caution, until a striker, Clara Lemlich Shavelson, demanded the floor. She declared: “I am a working girl, one of those who are on strike against intolerable conditions. I am tired of listening to speakers who talk in general terms. What we are here to decide is whether we shall or shall not strike. I offer a resolution that a general strike be declared – now.”
The crowd agreed, and the next morning, 15,000 shirtwaist workers took to the streets instead of going to work. Most of the male workers joined the strike as well.
Facing severe repression, they held out for 11 weeks and won big improvements, including, in most enterprises, a maximum 52 hour working week, 4 days’ paid holiday per year, no discrimination against union activists, free provision of necessary tools to work and negotiated pay settlements. It also sparked further organisation and struggle in the industry. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2142820279236444/?type=3