Strikers from the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union

This photograph shows strikers from the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union during the successful “Uprising of 20,000” labor strike in New York City. The strike was led by Jewish women working in New York shirtwaist factories. From the 1890s to the 1920s, the composition of America changed. Mass immigration, the emergence of an urban working class, and business growth transformed society. The Progressive movement formed in response to this changing landscape, addressing the corruption of politics and the inequality in wealth. Progressives promoted workers’ rights, the prohibition of alcoholic beverages, and improved public services. As middle-class suffragists joined these campaigns, they formed important alliances with working-class women who had organized into labor unions.