Annie Elizabeth Molloy (November 18, 1871 – March 17, 1928) was an American suffragist and labor leader. She was president of the Boston Telephone Operators Union in the 1910s and 1920s. In 1915 she was a delegate to the

International Congress of Women The International Congress of Women was created so that groups of existing women's suffrage movements could come together with other women's groups around the world. It served as a way for women organizations across the nation to establish formal m ...

meeting in the Netherlands. Peace_Delegates_on_NOORDAM_18848v

Early life

Molloy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of John Molloy and Susan Smith Molloy. Both of her parents were Irish immigrants; her father was a harnessmaker, and worked on the railroad. She attended St. Mary's School in Boston's North End.

Career

Molloy began working as a telephone operator in 1902. She was organizer and first president of the Boston Telephone Operator's Union, which she led from 1912 to 1916 and from 1922 to 1923. As leader of a union of women workers, she was a delegate to the International Congress of Women meeting in 1915, held in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. In 1923, her local did not join the larger telephone operators' union in New England when it went on strike, but they worked for a peaceful settlement with the striking group, saying "while our local union will not be involved in the present strike, we have the profoundest sympathy for the girls on whom this strike was precipitated and we feel keenly the injustice done them." In 1921, she was included in a ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' feature titled "Boston Women Making their Political Bow—Is it a Debut or a Fight?" One photograph published with the story was of Molloy, "longtime active suffragist", shaking her fist at the camera and scowling.

Personal life

Molloy lived with her father until he died in 1920, and then with her older brother, Philip Molloy. She was described as being of small stature, about 5 feet 1 inch tall, and having a "wonderful sense of humor". She died from pneumonia in 1928. Her funeral included a "human lane formed by fully 100 telephone operators" to guide her coffin from her home to the church; former Boston mayor

James Michael Curley James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston. He also served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, characterized ...

attended the service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molloy, Annie E. 1871 births 1928 deaths Activists from Boston American people of Irish descent Suffragists from Massachusetts