Fannie Sellins
Encyclopedia
Fannie Sellins was an American
union organizer
.
Born Fanny Mooney in New Orleans, Louisiana
, she married Charles Sellins in St. Louis, Missouri
. After his death she worked in a garment factory to support her four children. She helped to organize Local # 67 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
in St. Louis, where she became a negotiator for 400 women locked out of a garment factory. Thus she came to the attention of Van Bittner, president of District 5 of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).
In 1913 she moved to begin work for the mine workers union in West Virginia
. Her work, she wrote, was to distribute "clothing and food to starving women and babies, to assist poverty stricken mothers and bring children into the world, and to minister to the sick and close the eyes of the dying." She was arrested once in Colliers, West Virginia
for defying an anti-union injunction. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
intervened for her release.
Philip Murray
hired Sellins onto the staff of the UMWA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. In 1919 she was assigned to the Allegheny River Valley
district to direct picketing by striking miners at Allegheny Coal and Coke Company. On August 26 she witnessed guards beating Joseph Starzelski, a picketing miner, and when she intervened, she was shot and killed by two bullets. Others said that she was attempting to protect miners' children that were on scene.
She was buried from St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in New Kensington, Pennsylvania
on August 29 and interred at Union Cemetery in Arnold
. A coroner's jury and a trial in 1923 ended in acquittal for the two men accused of her murder.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
union organizer
Union organizer
A union organizer is a specific type of trade union member or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers....
.
Born Fanny Mooney in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, she married Charles Sellins in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. After his death she worked in a garment factory to support her four children. She helped to organize Local # 67 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membership, and a key player in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s...
in St. Louis, where she became a negotiator for 400 women locked out of a garment factory. Thus she came to the attention of Van Bittner, president of District 5 of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).
In 1913 she moved to begin work for the mine workers union in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. Her work, she wrote, was to distribute "clothing and food to starving women and babies, to assist poverty stricken mothers and bring children into the world, and to minister to the sick and close the eyes of the dying." She was arrested once in Colliers, West Virginia
Colliers, West Virginia
Colliers is an unincorporated town in Brooke County, West Virginia....
for defying an anti-union injunction. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
intervened for her release.
Philip Murray
Philip Murray
Philip Murray was a Scottish born steelworker and an American labor leader. He was the first president of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee , the first president of the United Steelworkers of America , and the longest-serving president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations .-Early...
hired Sellins onto the staff of the UMWA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. In 1919 she was assigned to the Allegheny River Valley
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
district to direct picketing by striking miners at Allegheny Coal and Coke Company. On August 26 she witnessed guards beating Joseph Starzelski, a picketing miner, and when she intervened, she was shot and killed by two bullets. Others said that she was attempting to protect miners' children that were on scene.
She was buried from St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in New Kensington, Pennsylvania
New Kensington, Pennsylvania
New Kensington is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania situated along the Allegheny River northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 14,701 at the 2000 Census. The mayor of New Kensington is Tom Guzzo , elected in 2009. He succeeded Mayor Frank E. Link , elected in 2001.-History:New...
on August 29 and interred at Union Cemetery in Arnold
Arnold, Pennsylvania
Arnold is a city in Westmoreland County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is a suburb of Pittsburgh, part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 5,667 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. A coroner's jury and a trial in 1923 ended in acquittal for the two men accused of her murder.