Today in Labor History November 22, 1909: The βUprising of the 20,000β occurred in New York, as female, mostly Jewish, garment workers went on strike for better pay and an end to sweatshop working conditions. It was also known as the Shirtwaist Strike. 19-year-old Clara Lemlich, who led the strike, said she had no patience for talk and called for her coworkers to join in a General Strike. She made this speech not long after leaving the hospital after thugs had beat her up. By February, their strike had won some gains for workers, like a raise and a reduction in work hours to 52 hours per week, but did not end sweatshop conditions in the industry. During the strike, a Judge told arrested picketers, "You are on strike against God." The Triangle Shirtwaist fire occurred one year later.
In the black of the winter of nineteen-nine
When we froze & bled on the picket line,
We showed the world that women could fight
& we rose & won with women's might.
Hail the waistmakers of nineteen-nine
Making their stand on the picket line,
Breaking the power of those who reign,
Pointing the way, smashing the chain.
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