Founded in 1898 by Florence Kelley as a conglomerate
organization uniting local consumer leagues from New
England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest, the National
Consumers' League worked to promote decent working
conditions by encouraging the sale of items produced
under a loose set of regulatory guidelines. Although
the movement had originated in England, it quickly
took root in the United States where the league implemented
a system of inspecting goods and labeling them with
white tags if approved. To accomplish this task, the
league inspected production sites of all varieties
including factories and apartment houses, and sought
to educate consumers about the negative effects of
subsidizing sweatshop labor. Many responded by refusing
to purchase any product that did not carry the white
label, providing an economic incentive for producers
to reform their employment practices. Eventually,
much of the league's legislative agenda – including
a minimum wage and the abolition of child labor –
were enacted, forcing producers to reform anyway.
Eleanor Roosevelt became a lifelong supporter of
the National Consumers' League. She joined the organization
in 1903 and threw herself into working for the White
Label campaign, an undertaking that exposed her to
the extreme poverty and unsafe working conditions
of the cities' impoverished working class. Moved by
their plight, ER deepened her involvement with the
organization and learned firsthand how to cultivate
grassroots support for reform initiatives. The league
recognized her talents and elected her vice-president,
a position she held before and after her years as
first lady. In May 14, 1959, ER presented the league's
testimony in support of increasing the minimum wage
before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor and Public
Welfare.
Sources:
Beasley, Maurine H., Holly C. Shulman and Henry R.
Beasley, eds. The Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclopedia.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001, 363-365.
Lash, Joseph. Eleanor and Franklin. New
York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1971, 99-100.
Woloch, Nancy. Women and the American Experience.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994, 301.