The Uprising of

20,000

Clara Lemlich, third from left, and members of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Local 25

Samuel Gompers addresses the shirtwaist makers on November 22, 1909 at the Cooper Union.

Clara Lemlich, garment worker and labor activist

Women pledge their support for a general shirtwaist makers strike, 1909.

Members of the Women’s Trade Union League and strikers at Clinton Hall, the strike’s headquarters, 1909.

Strikers carry signs that say “Strike… 30,000 Shirt Waist Makers… Higher Wages and Shorter Hours.”

Shirtwaist Makers on Strike, 1909.

Strikers march to City Hall to protest abuse by police, 1909.

Strikers march in the cold, 1910.

Strikers who were arrested are shown here at Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island). They hold their “Workhouse Prisoner” signs proudly, 1910.

Four strikers wear signs that say “Picket, Ladies Tailors Strikers”, 1910.

The strike ended on February 15, 1910. Louis Brandeis worked out an agreement called the Protocol of Peace between the factory owners

and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.