In honor of May Day and all the Occupy Movements going on around the nation, I thought I would highlight some of the trade unionist women from history. As I learn more each day, I think it would be interesting to do a focus on women's organizations throughout history, like the women's trade union league, the Jane Club, the National Dress Reform Association, WATER, and others. I find these organizations fascinating. It's almost like when you're at church and somebody has an idea so they start a committee. All these women's organizations are like church committees: they begin around a specific thing that needs attention and end when there's something else more important to pay attention to. Fascinating. Mary Kenney was born in Hannibal, Missouri, on 8th January, 1864. After a brief formal education Kenney worked as a dressmaker to help support her invalid mother. In 1889 Kenney moved to Chicago where she worked in several different factories. Kenney became a trade union organizer and was eventually invited to Hull House to meet Jane Addams. It was agreed that Kenney and fellow trade unionists could hold their meetings at the house. Kenney moved into Hull House and in 1891 established the Jane Club, a co-operative house where girls with low wages could live together. There were six apartments in the house. Within a year they were all occupied with each person paying $3.00 for rent, food and services. Working-class women, such as Kenney and Alzina Stevens, who had developed an interest in social reform as a result of their trade union work, played an important role in the education of the middle-class residents at Hull House. They in turn influenced the working-class women. As Kenney was later to say, they "gave my life new meaning and hope". Kenney became a well-known trade union figure and in 1892 Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labour, appointed her as his first woman organizer. In 1892, John Peter Altgeld was was elected governor of Illinois in 1892 and the following year he appointedFlorence Kelley as the state's first chief factory inspector. Kelley recruited a staff of twelve, including Kenney and Alzina Stevens. In 1894 Altgeld and Kelley managed to persuade the state legislature to pass legislation controlling child labour. This included a law limiting women and children to a maximum eight-hour day. This success was short-lived and in 1895 the Illinois Association of Manufacturers got the law repealed. Kenney moved to Boston where she married John O'Sullivan, a journalist working for The Boston Globe. She was employed by the Women's Educational and Industrial Union and helped to organize garment and laundry workers. In 1903 Kenney joined with William Walling to form the Women's Trade Union League. The main objective of the organization was to educate women about the advantages of union membership, to support women's demands for better working conditions, and to raise awareness about the exploitation of women workers. In November, 1914, Kenney was appointed as a factory inspector by the Department of Labor, a post she was to hold for twenty years. Mary Kenney O'Sullivan died in West Medford, MA on 18th January, 1943.
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Well, I took a few days of vacation and internet usage wasn't as easy as expected. What is good about the vacation is that even though I was not blogging, I was gathering tons of new material for the blog. I had the opportunity to visit the Women in Military Service to America Memorial which is located at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught was instrumental in making the Memorial a reality. She is President of the Board of Directors of the Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc. Her last military assignment was as Commander of the US Military Entrance Processing Command, North Chicago, IL, where she served from June 1982, until her retirement in August 1985. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Women’s History Museum and serves on the Virginia War Memorial Foundation Board of Trustees. Following retirement, she worked as a consultant with the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization as well as with industry. She speaks around the US on leadership and management and is a frequent guest on radio and television programs. A native of Illinois, General Vaught earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana from which she received the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 1983; she also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and an Honorary Doctorate of Public Affairs from Columbia College, SC. She is the first Air Force woman graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. During her military career, she held various positions in the comptroller field at Barksdale AFB, LA; Zaragoza AFB, Spain; McCoy AFB, Orlando, FL; HQ, Military Assistance Command, Saigon, Vietnam; USAF Logistics Command, Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH; the Air Staff, The Pentagon, Washington, DC; and she was the Deputy Chief of Staff, Comptroller, USAF Systems Command, Andrews AFB, MD. General Vaught served as Chairperson of the NATO Women in the Allied Forces Committee from 1983 to 1985 and was the senior woman military representative to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services from 1982 to 1985. Distinctive Achievements: • One of the most-decorated military women in US history • Recipient of the Woman Who Made A Difference Award – International Women's Forum, Oct. 1985 • First and, for some 22 years, the only woman promoted to brigadier general from the Comptroller career field • First woman to head a board of directors of a major credit union • First woman to command a unit receiving the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the nation's highest peacetime unit award, July 1985 • First woman to deploy with a Strategic Air Command bombardment wing on an operational deployment, 1966-67 • Listed in Who's Who in America • 1998 Living Legacy Patriot Award, Women’s International Center • 1998 Medal of Honor, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution • 1998 Veteran Advocate of the Year, National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs • 1998 Women of Distinction Award, National Association of Women in Education • 1998 VFW James E. Van Zandt Citizenship Award • 2000 Air Force Women Officer Associated, Pioneer Award • 2000 Margaret Cochran Corbin Award, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution • 2000 National Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee • 2003 National Women’s History Project National Women’s History Month Honoree • 2003 Legion of Honor Bronze Medallion Award, The Chapel of Four Chaplains • 2006 National Organization for Women (NOW) Intrepid Award • 2007 US Air Force Woman of Distinction Merit Award • 2008 General Federation of Women’s Clubs Women’s History Month Honoree • 2010 US Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame Inductee • 2012 USAF Brigadier General Wilma Vaught Visionary Leadership Award • 2012 Sea Services Leadership Association North Star Lifetime Achievement Award Her numerous military decorations and awards include both the Defense and Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, Air Force Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Vietnam Service Medal with four service stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. Here's an interview from NPR: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/23/133966767/general-remembers-her-different-military-days |
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