Margaret Dreier Robins
Encyclopedia
Margaret Dreier Robins was an American
labor leader. Born in Brooklyn
to prosperous German immigrants in 1868, in her teens Robins suffered from physical ailments which left her depressed and weak. She was privately educated. At age nineteen, she began doing charity work at Brooklyn Hospital
and soon became involved in other progressive causes. She met the reformer Josephine Shaw Lowell
in 1902 and through Lowell joined in the Woman’s Municipal League, an organization that helped women avoid prostitution. Another collaborator was Frances Kellor
, with whom she founded the New York Association for Household Research which provided lodging and placement for women domestic workers.
In 1904, increasingly interested in workers’ rights, Dreier joined the Women's Trade Union League
, then only a small, budding organization. She became the president of its New York chapter in 1905; president of the Chicago chapter 1907-1914; and treasurer of the national organization and rose quickly in its ranks. In 1907, she was elected president of the national organization and began a fifteen year tenure as its leader. Meanwhile, she married the lawyer and social worker Raymond Robins
in 1905.
As president of the League, Robins helped organize women into unions, educate women workers, and advocate for progressive legislation. She created a Training School for Women to educate women workers about organizing and leadership skills. She supported and became active in a number of well publicized strikes, most notably the International Ladies Garment Workers’ strike in 1910. She pushed for protective legislation limiting the hours of women’s work, and she presided over the League during its most influential period.
She served on the executive board of the Chicago Federation of Labor after 1908, and in 1915 was appointed to the unemployment commission by the governor of Illinois
.
In 1924, Dreier retired from her activist work and moved with her husband to Florida
. She died in 1945.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
labor leader. Born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
to prosperous German immigrants in 1868, in her teens Robins suffered from physical ailments which left her depressed and weak. She was privately educated. At age nineteen, she began doing charity work at Brooklyn Hospital
Brooklyn Hospital Center
Brooklyn Hospital Center is an affiliated hospital within the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, USA. It is the oldest hospital in the borough of Brooklyn.-History:...
and soon became involved in other progressive causes. She met the reformer Josephine Shaw Lowell
Josephine Shaw Lowell
Josephine Shaw Lowell was a Progressive Reform leader in the United States in the Nineteenth century. She is best known for creating the New York Consumers League in 1890.-Early years:...
in 1902 and through Lowell joined in the Woman’s Municipal League, an organization that helped women avoid prostitution. Another collaborator was Frances Kellor
Frances Kellor
Frances Alice Kellor was an American social reformer and investigator, who specialized in the study of immigrants to the United States and women.-Biography:...
, with whom she founded the New York Association for Household Research which provided lodging and placement for women domestic workers.
In 1904, increasingly interested in workers’ rights, Dreier joined the Women's Trade Union League
Women's Trade Union League
The Women's Trade Union League was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women formed in 1903 to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions...
, then only a small, budding organization. She became the president of its New York chapter in 1905; president of the Chicago chapter 1907-1914; and treasurer of the national organization and rose quickly in its ranks. In 1907, she was elected president of the national organization and began a fifteen year tenure as its leader. Meanwhile, she married the lawyer and social worker Raymond Robins
Raymond Robins
Raymond Robins was an American economist and writer. He was an advocate of organized labor and diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia under the Bolsheviks.-Biography:...
in 1905.
As president of the League, Robins helped organize women into unions, educate women workers, and advocate for progressive legislation. She created a Training School for Women to educate women workers about organizing and leadership skills. She supported and became active in a number of well publicized strikes, most notably the International Ladies Garment Workers’ strike in 1910. She pushed for protective legislation limiting the hours of women’s work, and she presided over the League during its most influential period.
She served on the executive board of the Chicago Federation of Labor after 1908, and in 1915 was appointed to the unemployment commission by the governor of Illinois
Governor of Illinois
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state....
.
In 1924, Dreier retired from her activist work and moved with her husband to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. She died in 1945.
External links
- Margaret Dreier Robins Papers at the University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...