Leonora Barry: America’s First Woman Labor Activist

As Women’s History Month continues, we take time to recognize a woman who made some pretty significant contributions to the labor movement:

Leonora Barry was the first female labor organizer in American history. An Irish immigrant, Barry faced many a family hardship, including the death of her mother,and rose from her early life challenges to become a schoolteacher at age 15. After the death of her husband in 1880, Barry found herself with three children to support so, out of necessity, she began working for an Amsterdam clothing factor y. Working conditions were abhorrent , and the pay was poor — Barry earned just 11 cents for her first day on the job and only 65 cents for her first complete week of work — but she continued at that job for two years.

In 1884, Barry joined the Knights of Labor, a national organization started by Philadelphia tailors in 1869 which welcomed women, blacks, employers and industrial workers alike. The union’s goals were to abolish child and convict labor, require equal pay for equal work, establish an eight-hour work day, and eliminate private banks. Membership totaled 702,000 under union leader Terence Powderly in 1886, and Barry was sent as one of 16 female delegates (out of 660) to the national convention in Richmond, Virginia.

During her involvement with the Knights of Labor, Barry worked to improve the working conditions and the wages of women and children around the country. She traveled across the country to educate female workers and inspire them to form and join labor unions. Following her resignation from the Knights of Labor in 1890, Barry continued to travel and speak on behalf of women’s suffrage, temperance, and other social reform movements.