[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 126 (Wednesday, September 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2213-E2214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN TO THE LABOR MOVEMENT

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                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 2009

  Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements 
of women in the labor and social movements. The UAW held a ceremony 
this past Labor Day in Flint Michigan to honor the contributions of 
women in labor, civil rights, the military, women's rights, and the 
political arena.
  From the 300 women that came together in Seneca Falls, New York, in 
1848, to promote women's rights and suffrage, women have banded 
together to improve our country. Jane Addams, ``the mother of social 
work,'' worked with the labor movement in Chicago to eliminate poverty, 
and advance the living conditions of workers. From her work at Hull-
House in Chicago, Jane Addams became a moving force in the passage in 
the first Federal child labor law passed in 1916.
  Women have played a pivotal role in the organization and development 
of every social movement of the past century, including the labor 
movement. In my hometown of Flint, the Women's Auxiliary provided 
support for the families of the sit-down strikers. The Women's 
Emergency Brigade was on the front lines as the police attempted to 
stop the union. Since the formation of the UAW, women have toiled side 
by side with men in the factories and have taken their place at the 
bargaining table.
  The labor movement had one of its greatest advocates in Frances 
Perkins. She was the first female Secretary of Labor and was the first 
female member of a President's Cabinet. During her younger days she 
lived at Hull-House and embraced the concept of unionism but it was 
witnessing firsthand the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911 that 
cemented her commitment to the workers of our country. As the architect 
of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, her vision of a better life 
for all cannot be underestimated. She was at the center of the 15 major 
pieces of legislation passed during the first 100 days of Roosevelt's 
Administration. She conceived the Social Security Act of 1935, the most 
important piece of social legislation in U.S. history, and the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 and shepherded them through Congress until 
they were enacted into law. Social Security, unemployment compensation, 
minimum wage, maximum work hours and the right to collective bargaining 
are just part of her legacy to the American people.
  Madam Speaker, today the number of women registered to vote exceeds 
the number of registered men by 8.3 million. Women make up 14 percent 
of active duty military personnel, and two-thirds of all new union 
members in the United States are women. Women have organized, financed, 
marched, volunteered, worked and are still working to fulfill the 
dreams of those 300 women that came together in 1848 and because of 
their efforts we all live in a better world.

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