Founded in 1903 by Jane Addams, Mary Anderson and
other trade unionists, the Women's Trade Union League
(WTUL) devoted itself to securing better occupational
conditions for women and encouraging women to join
the labor movement. The WTUL had a strong reformist
agenda, "sponsored a combination of vocational training
and protective legislation," and quickly emerged as
one of the most liberal organizations of its kind.
(1)
From 1907 through 1922, the WTUL achieved a number
of its legislative goals, including an eight-hour
workday, a minimum wage, and the abolition of child
labor. After the 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist
Company factory, the WTUL took part in a four-year
investigation that ultimately helped establish new
industrial safety regulations. In addition, the league
helped women gain access to labor unions, trained
women for leadership positions within unions, and
even provided temporary assistance for unemployed
trade union women.
Perhaps most importantly, the WTUL emerged as the
central meeting place for reform-minded women interested
in labor issues, and it was through the WTUL that
many of these women cultivated important political
relationships. Eleanor Roosevelt became an active
league member in 1922, cementing her ties to figures
like Rose Schneiderman
and Margaret Dreier Robins. These women eventually
became staunch Roosevelt allies, providing the WTUL
important access to powerful politicians and insuring
that their voices would be factored into the formulation
of labor policy in Washington. Despite the league's
closeness to the White House during the Roosevelt
years, the WTUL's role grew increasingly irrelevant
once labor unions allowed women to join on a widespread
basis. Mounting financial problems and declining
membership numbers also hampered WTUL's effectiveness.
Even though
ER remained supportive of the League until the end,
the WTUL closed its doors for good in 1950.
Notes:
- Nancy Woloch, Women and
the American Experience (New York: McGraw-Hill,
1994), 243.
Sources:
Beasley, Maureen H., Holly C. Shulman, and Henry
R. Beasley, eds. The Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclopedia.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001, 579-581.
Cook, Blanche Wiesen. Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume
Two, 1933-1938. New York: Viking Press, 1999,
62, 65, 77, 86, 89.
Woloch, Nancy. Women and the American Experience.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994, 207-210, 243.
For more information on the Women's Trade
Union League, visit the following website: