Today in Labor History June 9th

 

Labor activist Helen Marot

Labor activist Helen Marot was born on this day. Marot was a librarian from a wealthy family in Philadelphia, who investigated working conditions among children and women. During her life, she participated in numerous labor organizations, particularly those dedicated to the interests of women, such as the Women’s Trade Union League and the Bookkeepers, Stenographers, and Accountants Union in New York. She also organized and led the 1909-1910 Shirtwaist Strike in New York and was part of a commission that investigated the Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire in 1912. – 1865

The US passed anti-anarchist legislation designed to quell the rising power of anarchists in the labor movement. – 1902