union – On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch

Series co-editor Peg Lamphier and I are proud to congratulate author April Tellez on the publication of her first book with our “Women Making History” series from Bloomsbury. Dolores Huerta: A Life in American History is now available from their website and can be ordered from any independent bookseller you frequent. It’s a great time to read about a woman who is “one of the great contributors to American history, labor history, women’s history, and the history of activism, social justice, and human rights. Here, her story is told in a way that captures the full span of her life and achievements.”

April’s background as a history professor at Mt. San Antonio College who specializes in Chicanx, Native American, Women’s histories and in cultural resistance to settler colonization made her the perfect author for this book. We thank her for all the time and dedication it took the research (during Covid) and can’t wait for new readers to learn more about Dolores Huerta and all she’s done for fairness and equality for workers. She deserves her own national holiday!

Dolores Huerta: A Life in American History by April Tellez, Edited by Dr. Rosanne Welch and Dr. Peg Lamphier

Buy Today at Bloomsbury Press | Bookshop.org | Amazon

A comprehensive exploration of Dolores Huerta’s contributions to U.S. labor history and her life’s work of advocating for systematically disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

An iconic figure in American civil rights and one of the most influential labor rights activists of the 20th century, Huerta overcame great odds to make enduring contributions to social justice and advocacy, particularly for farm workers and the Latino community. Organized chronologically, this volume offers the opportunity for readers to better understand Huerta’s life. From her early beginnings in California’s central valley, to her influential leadership on the United Farm Workers (UFW) union, to her work educating on women’s issues and advocating for Latino representation in politics, readers will explore the many efforts that made Huerta’s influence enduring. Beyond a biography, this book places Huerta center stage in the context of American history, looking closely at the Chicano civil rights movement in California; social restrictions, disenfranchisement, and various forms of segregation in 1950’s and 1960’s America; historical labor strikes and boycotts; key legislation and political figures active in labor rights, and more. Huerta is one of the great contributors to American history, labor history, women’s history, and the history of activism, social justice, and human rights. Here, her story is told in a way that captures the full span of her life and achievements.

Buy Today at Bloomsbury Press | Bookshop.org | Amazon

Doing some research for the Norma Rae chapter in my upcoming Women’s History of Film book (co-written with my colleague Peg Lamphier) I came upon this SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE article by David von Drehle the author of a comprehensive book about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

I like it because he talks about the real, painstaking research work he undertook to tell the whole full story some 8 decades after it happened. People don’t often realize the work writers do to find bits of history across several archives in order to tell one story.

So it’s a good article for that – and for reminding us that unions work to make workplaces more safe and income more equitable and I’m tired of reading things written by people who don’t seem to remember disasters like this one – is that because they largely involved the loss of female life? Rosanne Welch

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire 520

On March 25, 1911, 146 workers perished when a fire broke out in a garment factory in New York City. For 90 years it stood as New York’s deadliest workplace disaster. (The Granger Collection, NYC)

Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

The author behind the authoritative retelling of the 1911 fire describes how he researched the tragedy that killed 146 people

On March 25, 1911, a pleasant springtime afternoon, a fire broke out in a garment factory near Washington Square in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Within minutes, the entire eighth floor of the ten-story tower was full of flames. Onlookers, drawn by the column of smoke and the clamor of converging fire wagons, watched helplessly and in horror as dozens of workers screamed from the ninth-floor windows. They were trapped by flames, a collapsed fire escape and a locked door. Firefighters frantically cranked a rescue ladder, which rose slowly skyward—then stopped at the sixth floor, fully extended. Pressed by the advancing blaze, workers began leaping and tumbling to their deaths on the sidewalk. Other workers perished in the flames, still others plunged into an open elevator shaft, while behind the factory two dozen fell from the flimsy fire escape. In all, 146 workers, most of them immigrant young women and girls, perished in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. For 90 years it stood as New York’s deadliest workplace disaster.

Read the entire article — Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Tag: union

Dolores Huerta: A Life in American History by April Tellez, Edited by Dr. Rosanne Welch an Dr. Peg Lamphier [Books]

An amazing article – Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire via Smithsonian Magazine

Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire