I’m sure that the contributions of every woman haven’t been documented in publications, media and textbooks but thankfully many contributions of women can be found in the history books. Women have played key roles in workers’ rights globally for over a century. They have long been connected to protests, revolutions and strikes. This speaks to their longstanding commitment to workers’ rights to form unions, fair working conditions and equal wages. They weren’t just sidelined cheerleaders for their husbands but they organized as well. Women have …show more content…
She showed her support of the labor movement by organizing people to support Eugene Debs. He was the president of the American Railway Union who served a six-month prison sentence for defying a court order not to disrupt railroad traffic in support of striking Pullman workers . In 1912, she was even charged with a capital offense by a military tribunal in West Virginia and sentenced to house arrest but because of her popularity the governor felt pressured to release her.
Alabama born Hattie Canty was a former maid who became president of Las Vegas Culinary Worker's Union Local 226. Just because Canty didn’t go to college didn’t mean she didn’t have leadership capabilities. During the 1990s, Canty led the Local 226 and under her leadership it became one of the largest unions in Southern Nevada that represented thousands of hospitality industry workers. As a member of the executive board, Local 226 staged a successful seventy-five-day walkout against Las Vegas casinos in an effort to gain better health insurance benefits for restaurant workers