Working Women's Association facts for kids

The Working Women's Association (WWA) was a group started in New York City on September 17, 1868. It began in the offices of The Revolution, a newspaper focused on women's rights. This newspaper was created by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

The main goal of the WWA was to create a group for working women. This group would help its members with things like wages, just like groups for working men did. Soon after it started, Susan B. Anthony became a representative for the WWA. She attended the yearly meeting of the National Labor Union (NLU), which was the first big labor group in the U.S.

The WWA grew to have over a hundred members. These members included women who earned wages, as well as journalists and other women who did more mental work than physical work. Many early members worked in the printing business. This included women who worked in print shops, their female bosses, and even women who owned their own printing businesses. The leaders of the WWA were also mainly printers. They included President Anna Tobbitt, Vice Presidents Susie Johns, Augusta Lewis, and Emily Peers, Secretary Elizabeth Brown, and Treasurer Julia Brown.

The WWA decided not to focus on women getting the right to vote (suffrage) at first. They wanted to become a stronger organization before tackling that big goal. The group got attention from newspapers, including the New York Times. This paper made fun of the WWA for asking for equal pay for equal work. The newspaper argued that women working for less money gave them an advantage in finding jobs.

How the WWA Helped Workers

The Working Women's Association helped some of its members create the Women's Typographical Union. This new union caught the attention of the National Typographical Union. This larger union had always refused to let women join. But now, they agreed to accept the Women's Typographical Union as a partner. This made them the second national union to allow women members.

Printers' Strike and Susan B. Anthony

In 1869, printers went on strike. Members of the Women's Typographical Union fully supported the strike. However, Susan B. Anthony supported a training program for women printers. This program was run by a company and would have allowed women to replace the striking male printers. Anthony believed she was helping women get more job chances. But the union saw her actions as helping to break the strike.

Anthony later said she was sorry for what she did. But the damage was already done. At the NLU meeting in 1869, Anthony was first allowed to be a representative. But after a big discussion, she was removed the very next day.

As the women printers worked more closely with the men, their connection to the WWA became weaker. Without the WWA's support, their position within the union also weakened. Soon, they were complaining that they were being shut out of the printing industry again.

Other Efforts by the WWA

The WWA also tried to start a union for women who operated sewing machines. But this attempt did not succeed. It was hard to organize workers who had semi-skilled jobs at that time. Even men in that industry were not part of a union.

The WWA also tried to create co-operative shops. These were places where female printing workers and sewing machine workers could work. This was important because they were often not allowed in commercial shops run by men.

The End of the WWA

By 1869, most of the WWA members were middle-class working women. This included journalists, doctors, and other professionals. In 1869, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed a new group called the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). The New York City part of the NWSA was mostly made up of WWA members. These women continued to meet and do similar work, but now as part of the NWSA.

The Working Women's Association officially closed down in December 1869. This happened shortly after Sarah F. Norton became its president, and not long after the NWSA was created.