Good morning everyone!

In solidarity with the UCU strike, today's Fem Fri is all about labour organising. I hope you enjoy it.

Let's start quite far back in history, with Mary Fildes who survived the Peterloo Massacre. I like the detail that she wore her best frock to the protest:

Like many of the women who attended that day, Mary Fildes wore her best clothes.  When the yeomanry attacked, Mary attempted to escape, but was caught when her dress caught on a nail on the speakers’ platform.  Mary was attacked by the yeomanry, but survived.  Another woman, Elizabeth Gaunt, was found in Henry Hunt’s carriage, perhaps shielding herself from attack. She, alongside Hunt, was put on trial for treason.

https://phm.org.uk/blogposts/the-women-of-peterloo/

Now how about Rose Schneiderman, who made this speech in 1912. She kind of caught the conservative trade union movement off guard as they had assumed that only men could organise:

“What the woman who labours wants is the right to live, not simply exist — the right to life as the rich woman has the right to life, and the sun and music and art. You have nothing that the humblest worker has not a right to have also. The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too.”

https://www.artistsunion.scot/rose_schneidermann

Hattie Canty organised the longest strike in US history. It lasted for six years!

Canty had this to say about striking: “… when there’s a strike like that, you’re not just striking for the benefits from that hotel. But you are learning to take up for yourself. You are learning to defend your rights. You are not letting people just run over you or you’re taking anything they give you.”

https://nwlc.org/black-women-built-that-labor-and-workers-rights/

Also at the above link is Lucy Parsons, who was branded by the Chicago police department as "more dangerous than a thousand rioters." It's really worth a click.

Finally as well as keeping the red flag flying here is a nice Autostraddle article on "green flags" to look out for when you are dating:

This green flag is a proxy for understanding two things about them: Are they honest? And, do they have a clear sense of self? Of course, this one is dependent on you, first, recognizing that the things you like aren’t you. That you are not just an amalgam of your job, hobbies, and interests.

https://www.autostraddle.com/relationship-green-flags-to-look-for-when-dating/

Love,

Alex.