Margaret Dreier Robins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret Dreier Robins
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Margaret Dreier Robins in 1919
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| Born | 6 September 1868 Brooklyn, New York
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| Died | 21 February 1945 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Women's Trade Union League, Woman’s Municipal League |
Margaret Dreier Robins (born September 6, 1868 – died February 21, 1945) was an important American leader. She worked hard to improve the lives of working people. She was known as a labor leader and a philanthropist, which means she gave her time and money to help others.
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Early Life and Family
Margaret Dreier Robins was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 6, 1868. Her parents, Theodor and Dorthea Dreier, had moved to the United States from Germany. Her father was a successful businessman. Her parents were cousins from Bremen, Germany. Their families had a history of being community leaders and merchants.
Theodor Dreier came to the United States in 1849. He became a partner in a large English iron company in New York. He married Dorothea in 1864 during a trip to Germany. They then moved to a brownstone house in Brooklyn Heights, New York.
Margaret had a brother and three sisters. Her sister Mary also worked to improve society. Her other sisters, Dorothea and Katherine, became painters.
Margaret was taught at home. Her parents believed that art was very important and often left out of regular schools. When she was a teenager, Margaret had some health problems. These made her feel sad and weak.
Working for Social Change
When Margaret was nineteen, she started doing charity work at Brooklyn Hospital. Soon, she became involved in other causes to make society better. In 1902, she met a reformer named Josephine Shaw Lowell. Through Lowell, Margaret joined the Woman’s Municipal League. This group worked to improve city life.
Margaret also worked with Frances Kellor. Together, they started the New York Association for Household Research. This organization helped women who worked in homes find places to live and jobs.
Leading the Women's Trade Union League
In 1904, Margaret became very interested in the rights of workers. She joined the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL). This was a new and small group at the time. She quickly became a leader in the organization.
- In 1905, she became president of the WTUL's New York branch.
- From 1907 to 1914, she led the Chicago branch.
- She also became the treasurer for the national organization.
In 1907, Margaret was elected president of the national WTUL. She held this important position for fifteen years. In 1905, she married Raymond Robins, who was a lawyer and social worker. The couple divided their time between a community center in Chicago, Illinois, and their home in Chinsegut Hill in Brooksville, Florida.
Helping Women Workers
As president of the WTUL, Margaret Robins did many important things. She helped women form unions to protect their rights. She also educated women workers about how to organize and become leaders. She worked to pass laws that would help workers.
She created a Training School for Women. This school taught women workers how to organize and lead. Margaret supported many well-known strikes. One of the most famous was the International Ladies Garment Workers’ strike in 1910. She pushed for laws that would limit the number of hours women could work. The WTUL became very powerful during her time as president.
After 1908, she served on the board of the Chicago Federation of Labor. In 1915, the governor of Illinois appointed her to a commission that studied unemployment.
Political Involvement and International Work
Margaret was also active in the Women's Suffrage Movement, which fought for women's right to vote. In 1912, she ran for a position as a Trustee at the University of Illinois. She was a candidate for the Progressive Party. She received over 300,000 votes but did not win the seat.
In 1919, Margaret Robins played a key role in creating the first International Congress of Working Women. She arranged for Rose Schneiderman and Mary Anderson to attend the Paris Peace Conference. There, they and other women labor leaders planned an international meeting. This meeting was to prepare for the upcoming International Labour Organization convention in Washington, D.C.
Later Life in Florida
In 1924, Margaret Robins stopped her active work as a labor leader. She moved full-time with her husband to Florida. Even in retirement, she continued her work to help others. She helped start the YWCA in Florida and the first local library. She also supported local art productions. Margaret Dreier Robins passed away in 1945.
