Fannie Never Flinched
One Woman's Courage in the Struggle for American Labor Union Rights
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Fannie Sellins (1872–1919) lived during the Gilded Age of American Industrialization, when the Carnegies and Morgans wore jewels while their laborers wore rags. Fannie dreamed that America could achieve its ideals of equality and justice for all, and she sacrificed her life to help that dream come true. Fannie became a union activist, helping to create St. Louis, Missouri, Local 67 of the United Garment Workers of America. She traveled the nation and eventually gave her life, calling for fair wages and decent working and living conditions for workers in both the garment and mining industries. Her accomplishments live on today. This book includes an index, glossary, a timeline of unions in the United States, and endnotes.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Farrell (Pure Grit) spotlights little-known activist Fannie Sellins (1867 1919) in an accessible biography that also serves as a valuable introduction to the U.S. labor rights' movement. Widowed with four children, Sellins worked in garment sweatshops in St. Louis, Mo., at the turn of the 20th century. She successfully united her fellow workers to fight for better wages and working conditions, and went on to do the same for workers in other industries. She butted up against anti-union coal mine owners, and was ultimately killed for the causes she championed. Over six brief chapters, Farrell deftly places Sellins's story within the larger context of immigration and industrialization at the time. Stitched blue-denim illustrations on the endpapers color coordinate with blue-tinted archival photographs of immigrant workers at sewing machines, in mines, and in company towns. In a nod to Sellins's work as a seamstress, images of buttons, gears, and stitching help frame each spread. Readers interested in the history of workers' rights shouldn't miss this entr e to the subject, which is bolstered by a timeline of labor struggles, source notes, and other resources. Ages 10 14.
