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This is the first full length history of the National Federation of
Women Workers - a pioneering, all-female trade union operating from
1906 to 1921. It centres on the leaders, organisers, activists and
members throughout the regions of Britain who built and sustained
the union. By focusing on strikes, disputes and branch life, Hunt
provides vital details of the working lives of thousands of women
workers in the early twentieth century. The Federation, led by the
charismatic Mary Macarthur, was influential out of all proportion
to its size and attracted brilliant women activists to its
campaigns, many of whom became well known in British Labour
politics. By highlighting grassroots activism as well as national
leadership, this work brings fresh perspectives to trade union
history, deepening our knowledge of women who, whilst living
through the political and social upheavals of the First World War,
knew the realities of women's work that was too often dominated by
low pay, poor conditions and inequality.
This book is the first full length history of the all-female
National Federation of Women Workers (1906-21) led by the gifted
and charismatic Mary Macarthur. Its focus is on the people who made
up this pioneering union - the organisers, activists and members
who built branches and struggled to improve the lives of Britain's
working women.
In 1921 the brilliant and charismatic trade union leader, Mary
Macarthur, died aged 40. In her short life, her activism and
leadership had been responsible for raising awareness of women's
poor working conditions and encouraging them to speak out against
injustice and inequality. Mary Macarthur is perhaps best known for
the prominent part she played in the women chain makers' strike in
Cradley Heath, Staffordshire in 1910. This heroic dispute ended
with the women receiving the minimum wage that was theirs by right.
It was a triumph, but by no means an isolated one. Mary Macarthur,
as leader of the country's all-female general trade union, the
National Federation of Women Workers, travelled the length and
breadth of the country making sure that women were strengthened by
better pay and working condition and union membership. This new
account of her life seeks to understand what motivated this
extraordinary individual and why she chose the path that she did,
particularly at a time when it was still far from common for a
middle-class woman to appear on public platforms. In other words,
this is not just an account of Mary the union leader but of Mary
the woman - of her travels and friendships, love and marriage,
family and motherhood - explored within the context of her times.
Cathy Hunt examines the lives of Coventry women throughout one
extraordinary century of change. The result of her detailed
research is a book packed with stories of what it was like to be a
woman between 1850 and 1950. During these years, women broke
through barriers so that future generations of women might
experience greater freedoms than had ever been possible for their
mothers. Others offered their time and exceptional talents for the
good of the community. The main focus of this engaging study is on
the too often neglected details of women's daily lives, of triumphs
and tragedies, changes and continuities, loves and losses. What was
it like to grow up in Coventry, to go to its schools, to work in
its offices, shops and factories? What were women's experiences of
getting married, setting up home and raising children? How did
women spend their scarce and precious leisure time? In other words,
this is a book about the business of being a woman in this
distinctive English Midlands city.
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