Clara Lemlich (1886 - 1982)

Sun Mar 28, 1886

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Clara Lemlich Shavelson, born on this day in 1886, was a Jewish communist and labor leader of the “Uprising of 20,000”, a massive strike of shirtwaist workers in New York’s garment industry in 1909. Later blacklisted from the industry for her labor union work, she became a member of the Communist Party USA and a consumer activist.

Before the shirtwaist strike began, Clara had been listening to men speak at a union meeting about the disadvantages and cautions about the shirtwaist workers going on a general strike. After four hours of this, she rose and declared in Yiddish that she wanted to say a few words of her own.

She declared that the shirtwaist workers would go on a general strike, which received a standing ovation from the audience. Clara then took an oath swearing that if she became a traitor to the cause she now voted for, then that the hand she now held high wither from her arm.

The strike was successful - under a “Protocol of Peace”, factory owners and the union agreed to end the strike under improved wages, working conditions, and hours.