HELEN MAROT
was born in Philadelphia on 9th June, 1965. The daughter of wealthy
Quakers, Marot worked as a librarian in Wilmington, Delaware, before
returning to Philadelphia to open her own private library on social
reform.
In 1899 Marot published a Handbook of Labor History. After moving to New
York she joined with Florence Kelley and Josephine Goldmark to investigate
child labour in the city. . . .
Marot was the main figure in the formation of the Bookkeepers,
Stenographers and Accountants Union and the leader of the International
Ladies" Garment Workers Union.
 ROSE
SCHNEIDERMAN, the daughter of Jewish parents, was born in Saven,
Poland, 1882. . . .
At thirteen Rose found work in a department store. She eventually went to
work in a factory in search of higher wages. Rose developed radical
political views and became an active socialist and trade unionist. She
also joined the campaign for women's suffrage.
In 1903 she founded the Jewish Socialist United Cloth Hat and Cap Makers'
Union. This was the start of a long career in which she eventually became
president of the Women's Trade Union League.
 LUCY
PARSONS. Lucy Waller, the daughter of John Waller, a Creek Indian,
and Marie del Gather from Mexico, was born in Texas in 1853. Her parents
died when she was a child and was raised by relatives.
In 1870 she met Albert Parsons, a former soldier in the Confederate Army
but now a Radical Republican. They married the following year but mixed
relationships were unacceptable and so the couple moved to Chicago.
Parsons became a printer but after becoming involved in trade union
activities he was blacklisted. . . .
Albert Parsons was arrested and charged with the Haymarket Bombing.
Although no evidence was provided in court that linked Parsons to the
crime, he was found guilty along with August Spies, Adolph Fisher, Louis
Lingg and George Engel and was sentenced to death. He was executed on 11th
November, 1887.
Parsons continued to be politically active after the death of her husband.
A founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) she
published the radical journals, Freedom and The Liberator where
she campaigned for trade union rights and an end to lynching.
Parsons was also a member of the National Committee of the International
Labor Defense, and organization that helped African Americans unjustly
accused of crimes such as the Scottsboro Nine. . . .
MORE NOTABLE WOMEN IN LABOR
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