Workers Memorial Day Mary Harris "Mother" Jones

Workers Memorial Day Mary Harris "Mother" Jones 1830(?)-1930 "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living." Public Domain: Materials created by the federal government are generally part of the public domain and may be used, reproduced and distributed without permission. Therefore, content on this Web site which is in the public domain may be used without the prior permission of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). However, such materials may not be used in a manner that implies any affiliation or endorsement by the DOL of your company, Web site or publication. You may properly credit public domain materials obtained from a DOL Web site to the U.S. Department of Labor and/or www.dol.gov.

Irish-born Mother Jones was a champion of the country's weakest and neediest during the period of America's great industrial growth. For countless workers she was both goad and inspiration in their struggles to organize for mutual protection. Her flaming rhetoric and fearless campaigning helped swell the ranks of the United Mine Workers who called her the Miners' Angel.

With the look of an angel and the tongue of a mule skinner, she tramped the land, venting her searing invective against the shame of child labor and those who exploited the working class. A magnificent scold, she was a ringing voice on behalf of workers and their families, a leader in the miners' colossal struggles in West Virginia, Colorado and Pennsylvania.

She met with Presidents, from McKinley to Coolidge, in support of her people, and suffered jailings, personal attacks, and unbelievable hardships for her efforts to ease their impoverished lives.

TEXT CREDIT: U.S. Department of Labor