Kate Mullany
Kate Mullany | |
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Born | 1845 |
Died | 1906 |
Known for | Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame for organizing the 1st female union in the USA. Mullany, led a successful 6-day strike in 1864 to increase wages and improve working conditions for the Collar Laundry Union. |
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Organized labor |
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Kate Mullany (1845–1906) was an American early female labor leader who started the all-women Collar Laundry Union in Troy, New York in February 1864. It was one of the first women's unions that lasted longer than the resolution of a specific issue.[1][2]
Biography
Kate Mullany was an Irish immigrant born in 1845 who moved to the
At the age of 19, when her father died, Mullany had to work at a local laundry 12–14 hours a day for $3 a week.[2] While working there, if she damaged an article of clothing, the company would reduce her wages to cover the cost of the damages.[4] She led a successful six-day strike in 1864 with over 300 other women to increase wages and improve working conditions. The strike led to a 25-percent increase in wages.[5][6][2]
The National Labor Union saw what Mullany was doing and they appointed her to be assistant secretary of the National Labor Union, a union of which she would later be elected the Vice President.[2]
In 1869 she married John Fogarty and her obituary was listed under her married name.[7] Around that time, Mullany also failed at trying to create new laundry and collar-making cooperatives.[2] She died in 1906 and was buried in the Fogarty family plot in St. Peter's Cemetery, Troy, New York.[8]
The Kate Mullany House, at 350 8th Street in Troy, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1998,[9] and became a National Historic Site in 2008.[1][5]
In 2000, Mullany was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[2] She has been honored by the New York State Senate,[10] and her home is on the Women's Heritage Trail.[11]
See also
- Kate Mullany House
- Collar Laundry Union
- Troy, New York
- National Women's Hall of Fame
- National Labor Union
References
- ^ a b Kate Mullany biography at the National Park Service government web site. Accessed February 4, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f National Women's Hall of Fame official web site. Accessed February 4, 2008.
- ^ "Mullany, Kate | Women of the Hall". Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ "Mullany, Kate | Women of the Hall". Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ a b Wiawaka Women's Camp web site Archived 2008-11-19 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed February 4, 2008.
- ^ Kate Mullany House organization official web site. Accessed February 4, 2008/
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Kate Mullany House organization official web site Grave web page Archived 2018-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed February 4, 2008/
- ^ Page Putnam Miller; Jill S. Mesirow; Andrew Laas; John W. Bond; Rachel Bliven (4 September 1997), National Historic Landmark Nomination—Kate Mullany House (pdf), National Park Service and Accompanying 2 photos, from 1994. (493 KB)
- ^ NY Senate Women's Heritage Month web site Archived 2003-07-26 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed February 4, 2008.
- ^ Women's Heritage Trail official web site. Accessed February 2, 2020.
Further reading
- Turbin, Carole (1994). Working Women of Collar City: Gender, Class, and Community in Troy, 1864-86. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252018362.
External links
- The Kate Mullany story at the Public Employees Federation web site
- Connect Kids to Troy History [permanent dead link]
- Rosalyn Baxandall; Linda Gordon; ISBN 978-0-393-31262-1.