Carmen Lucia (April 2, 1902 – February 19, 1985) was a

union organizer A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers. In some unions, the orga ...

in the United States, nicknamed the "Hatter's Fighting Lady".

Background

Carmen Lucia was born on 2 April 1902, in

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Career

Lucia quit school at the age of 12, saying she "didn't like the teacher," and began working in the Steinbloch garment factory in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

at the age of 14. She became more involved with unions over the next 15 years, including the Neckwear Workers Union and

Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Ind ...

. She took support classes from the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, which led to her getting recruited to the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in 1927. Lucia continued her high school education at the

Rochester Business Institute Everest College was a system of colleges in the United States, and with Wyotech, made up Zenith Education. It was until 2015 a system of for-profit colleges in the United States and the Canadian province of Ontario, owned and operated by Corint ...

, and confronted the union officers at the school with concerns that Italian Americans were not being treated fairly in the workplace. The officers disagreed, and after repeated attempts to convince them otherwise, she quit the school. Soon after that, Louis Fuchs, the President of the Neckwear Workers Union recruited her as an organizer to unionize factories. She was sent to a necktie factory in Connecticut. Throughout the 1930s, Lucia was jailed and beaten multiple times while organizing protests and strikes. Despite that, she continued to organize unions, and worked to organize the

1934 West Coast waterfront strike The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike (also known as the 1934 West Coast Longshoremen's Strike, as well as a number of variations on these names) lasted 83 days, and began on May 9, 1934 when longshoremen in every US West Coast port walked out ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. After that strike, she organized workers in San Francisco into the Department Store Workers Union and the Retail Clerks Association. She organized two unions in 1938 and 1941 for

dime store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...

workers. She was at the time an organizer for the Cap makers International Union, and had the protesters carry their babies on their shoulders and hand out pamphlets reading "Take our mothers off the streets. Little Children Like to Eat". In 1944, Lucia moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where she lived until 1960. She served as a chair on a number of boards, including the Georgia State Federation of Labor. Lucia retired in 1974, and lived with her family, writing poetry.

Death

Carmen Lucia died age 81 on February 19, 1985 in

References

External links

* The Women Of Summer: Documentary film about the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers, told by members of the school. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucia, Carmen 1902 births 1985 deaths People from Catanzaro Activists from Rochester, New York American women trade unionists American people of Italian descent Italian emigrants to the United States Trade unionists from New York (state) Trade unionists from Georgia (U.S. state) Activists from Atlanta 20th-century American women 20th-century American people