On November 23, 1909, over 20,000 Yiddish-speaking immigrants, mostly young women in their teens and twenties, launched a strike in New York’s garment industry. Known as the Uprising of the 20,000, the strike would last 11 weeks and was the largest known strike by women in history. The morning after the decision to strike, 15,000 shirtwaist (women’s blouse) workers began picketing. Later that day, there were more than 20,000 strikers, with men joining the strike as well — completely shutting down the industry.
(Source: facebook.com)
