Sarah Wesker (1901 – 1971) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

ist active in the garment industry in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

of London in the 1920s and 1930s.

Biography

Wesker grew up in the Rothschild Buildings, a block of flats in

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

, tenanted mainly by

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

families. She was on the executive committee of the

National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(NUTGW) before joining the United Ladies Tailors' Trade Union (ULTTU), a Jewish trade union. Wesker was involved in the organisation of many strikes by garment workers in the East End. At Goodman's trouser factory in 1926, where she worked as a machinist, she led the all-female workforce in a walk out demanding a farthing a pair. In 1928 she organised 600 young women at the Rego Factory on

Bethnal Green Road Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

. The strike lasted for 12 weeks until the workers won at Christmas. As the strike was not recognised by the national leadership of the NUTGW, the workers raised money by singing "strike songs" and collecting money around London, activities orchestrated by Wesker. In 1929 she took a leading part in the strike at Polikoff's, a factory at 148-160

Mare Street Mare Street is a street in the London Borough of Hackney. It has existed since the 15th century, when it was one of the first roads at the centre of the parish. It was then known as ''Merestret''. The word ''mere'' was either the Old English '' ...

in Hackney.There the strikers also sang. In 1930 she led a strike at the Simpson factory, also in Hackney. In 1929, Wesker was a founding member of the United Clothing Workers' Union (UCWU). She was the only female member of its executive committee, and later became its full-time women's organiser. The UCWU was absorbed into the NUTGW in 1935. Wesker again sat on the NUTGW executive committee and her appointment in 1937 as NUTGW women's organiser signalled a new approach to female workers. She helped women to become organised in a number of large factories. Wesker was elected to the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

's Central Committee at the 12th Congress in 1932. Along with other women, she took part in the

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the inner East End, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march by mem ...

on 4 October 1936. Wesker was fluent in English and Yiddish and was known to be a fiery speaker, able to inspire the older women workers in the factories. The playwright

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and oth ...

was her nephew, and based the character Sarah in his play ''

Chicken Soup with Barley ''Chicken Soup with Barley'' is a 1956 play by British playwright Arnold Wesker. It is the first of the 'Wesker trilogy' – being followed by ''Roots'' and ''I'm Talking About Jerusalem'' – and was first performed on stage in 1958 at the Bel ...

'' on his aunt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wesker, Sarah 1901 births 1971 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members English Jews English trade unionists People from Spitalfields Women trade unionists