Anna "Annie" Clemenc
Title
Anna "Annie" Clemenc
Subject
Labor rights
Description
Michigan labor activist who rallied workers and fought against capitalists so that laborers could sit at the bargaining table
Creator
Amy French
Source
Image Source: http://thelaborhalloffame.org/sites/lihf.wayne.prometheuslabor.com/files/Clemenc.jpg
Birth Date
1888
Birthplace
Calumet, Michigan
Death Date
1956
Occupation
Labor organizer
Biographical Text
Annie Clemenc was a labor organizer who played an important role in shaping the labor movement in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She fought for coal miners during the 1913-1914 by organizing the Woman's Auxiliary of the Western Federation of Miners in support of the miners' cause. She marched at the front of the line on the day that the miners went on strike, carrying the flag proudly in front of the workers. A follower of Mother Mary Harris Jones, Eugene Debs, and socialism, she was arrested and jailed twice for her efforts to help unionize Michigan's Copper Country. The violent and, sometimes, deadly strike put Clemenc in harm's way, but she persevered. Although the miners did not gain the right to unionize, they were successful in securing higher wages and a shorter work day.
Bibliography
Burns, Virginia. Tall Annie. (Bath, MI: Enterprise Press, 1987).
Clemenc was also inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.
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