The Collar Laundry Union was the first all-female

labor 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 ( ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was started in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

by Kate Mullany in 1864. At the time, being a laundress was a difficult job. An almost exclusively female occupation, laundresses worked 12 to 14 hours a day for very low pay in very hot buildings (which led to the origination of the term "

sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...

"). Working conditions were often unsafe, as laundresses used boiling water, strong chemicals, and hot irons. If damage occurred to an article of clothing during the laundering process, the cost of repair or replacement would be taken from the worker's pay. Mullany, only 19 years old at the time, was inspired by the success of men's labor unions. Along with co-worker Esther Keegan, she convinced their fellow workers to protest their low wages and unsafe working conditions by forming a union. On February 23, 1864, 300 members of the union went on

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

. After six days, the laundry owners gave in to their demands and raised wages 25 percent. In September 1868, Mullany was chosen to be the assistant secretary and national organizer for women of the

National Labor Union The National Labor Union (NLU) is the first national labor federation in the United States. Founded in 1866 and dissolved in 1873, it paved the way for other organizations, such as the Knights of Labor and the AFL (American Federation of Labor). ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She was the first woman ever appointed to an office at the National Labor Union. Mullany's home at 350 8th Street in Troy, the Kate Mullany House, was added to the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

and was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1998.

References

{{Authority control Defunct trade unions in the United States Troy, New York Laundry workers' trade unions Women's occupational organizations Trade unions established in 1864 History of women in New York (state) 1864 establishments in New York (state)