Definition
Clara Lemlich (December 15, 1886 – June 16, 1982) was a Ukrainian‑born Jewish American labor organizer, union activist, and feminist known for her leadership in the 1909 “Uprising of the 20,000” shirtwaist workers’ strike in New York City and for her lifelong involvement in the American labor and women’s rights movements.
Overview
Born Clara Lemel in Gorodysche, a town in the Podolia Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine), Lemlich emigrated with her family to the United States in 1900, settling in New York City’s Lower East Side. She entered the garment industry as a seamstress, a position that exposed her to the exploitative conditions of the “sweatshop” system.
In 1908, Lemlich joined the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU). On November 23, 1909, she famously seized the microphone at a meeting of the New York Women’s Trade Union League and, in Yiddish, urged the assembled workers to “Take up the sword and die!” The rallying cry helped ignite the massive strike of over 20,000 garment workers—known as the “Uprising of the 20,000”—which secured significant wage increases and the right to union representation.
Following the strike, Lemlich continued organizing across various industries, including the telephone and laundry sectors. She was a founding member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) in 1919 and later served on the party’s national committee. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, she worked with the Workers’ Party of America and the National Women’s Committee of the CPUSA, advocating for both class and gender equality.
During the New Deal era, Lemlich served as a liaison between labor groups and government agencies, contributing to the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) of 1935. In the post‑World‑WarII period, she remained active in civil‑rights and anti‑McCarthyist campaigns, testifying before congressional committees on labor and civil liberties.
Lemlich retired from formal union leadership in the 1960s but continued to write and speak on labor history. She died in New York City at the age of 95.
Etymology/Origin
The surname “Lemlich” is of Eastern European Jewish origin, likely derived from the Yiddish diminutive of the given name “Levi” or from a toponymic source related to a village name in the Pale of Settlement. Her given name “Clara” is the Latin word for “clear” or “bright,” common among Ashkenazi Jews in the late 19th century.
Characteristics
- Labor Leadership: Recognized for her charismatic public speaking, ability to mobilize large numbers of workers, and strategic use of strikes to achieve labor reforms.
- Political Alignment: Affiliated with socialist and later communist organizations; advocated for the integration of class struggle with women’s emancipation.
- Advocacy for Women: Emphasized the intersection of gender and labor issues, promoting women’s participation in unions and political movements.
- Literary Contributions: Authored autobiographical essays and contributed articles to labor publications such as The Daily Worker and Jewish Daily Forward.
- Legacy: Considered a pioneering figure in American labor history; her actions are frequently cited in studies of early 20th‑century industrial activism and feminist labor organizing.
Related Topics
- Uprising of the 20,000 (1909 shirtwaist strike)
- International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU)
- Communist Party USA (CPUSA)
- Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL)
- New Deal labor legislation (e.g., Wagner Act)
- Jewish labor movement in the United States
- Early 20th‑century American feminism
- Labor activism in the garment industry.