Working Class History t-shirt of the month from dna merch. This shirt is only available in strictly limited edition.
The Working Class History T-Shirt of the Month for March pays homage to the two-month-long so-called “Bread & Roses” strike that ended on March 14, 1912 in Lawrence, Massachusetts in the United States. Two days earlier, on March 12, factory owners gave in to most of the demands of the 20,000 striking women and girls. The walkout, initiated by Polish women workers, was denounced by the American Federation of Labor as too “revolutionary” and “anarchistic.” Because of the lack of support, the women workers turned instead to the more radical Industrial Workers of the World union. The name of the strike refers on the one hand to the satisfaction of basic needs such as bread and on the other hand to the beautiful things in life, symbolized by roses. Both are worth fighting for. In a song that was sung at the protests it says accordingly “yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too”.
Worth mentioning is the extremely inclusive organizing work of the women workers, whose meetings were translated into almost 30 languages to allow all ethnic groups to actively participate in the strike. Together, they confronted brutal police and military repression and eventually won major concessions for the entire garment industry at the time. In particular, they won a 15% wage increase, double overtime pay, and amnesty for most strikers. A campaign to free IWW organizers arrested during the strike continued until they were acquitted in November.
About the design: This month’s design is by artist and tattooist Nora Lehrmann. Nora chose a drawing of roses and wheat as a symbol for bread to represent the strike. She has also placed the period of the strike (11.01.-14.03.1912) in a banderole. The design this time deliberately avoids an ‘intrusive’ slogan and captivates with the simple and subtle beauty of the monochrome drawing. The shirt is available in white and red.
This post is also available in: Deutsch
