The Women's Educational and Industrial Union (1877-2006) in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, was founded by physician Harriet Clisby for the advancement of women and to help women and children in the industrial city. By 1893, chapters of the WEIU were established in Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

 and Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

.

History

In the last part of the 19th century, a dramatic surge in immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

 and rapid industrial growth took place in Boston. The exploitation of women and children, crowded housing and poor sanitation, and miserable labor conditions led Dr. Harriet Clisby, one of America's first women physicians, to establish the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in 1877 to respond to these social problems.

Clisby had been holding "Sunday Meetings for Women" in her home since 1872, and it was from these meetings that the WEIU evolved. Men were invited to speak at these meetings, but in 1874 members decided to restrict the meetings to women. "They felt that woman, by her organization, comes into near relation to the Infinite, and is receptive, through her spirituality, of divine truth; that she was well calculated to be the teacher to lead her sisters into that spiritual unfolding that comes to all from true seeking."

In 1903 men were allowed to be associate members of the Union. By the beginning of the 20th century, the The Women's Union had established itself as one of Boston's primary service providers and advocacy organizations. Many of the city's most prominent women, including Abby Morton Diaz, Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...

, and Julia Ward Howe

Julia Ward Howe

Julia Ward Howe was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet, most famous as the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".-Biography:...

, were involved with the Union's early history.

• In 1877, the Women's Union opened a store to help women support themselves and their families by selling crafts and foodstuffs which they produced in their homes. The Shop at the Union, which closed in June 2004, carried gifts, cards, jewelry, apparel and specialty items, many of which were created by women artists and women-owned companies.
• In 1878, the Protective Committee was formed to provide free legal advice to poor and uninformed workers and to call attention to the legal rights of women and children. In 1921, the Massachusetts Legal Aid Society assumed this work, after the Union stipulated that the Society hire a female attorney.
• In 1899, The Women's Union began an employment-training program for the adult blind and collected Braille books for the Boston Public Library. Four years later, the Union initiated a successful lobbying campaign to create the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. Mary Morton Kehew, then President of the Union, persuaded Helen Keller to speak to the Boston General Court about the importance of education for the blind.
• In 1905, The Women's Union began a retail training program, equipping women with skills in purchasing, accounting, and general salesmanship. Large retailers such as Filene's
  Filene's
  Filene's was a Boston-based department store owned by Federated Department Stores , and May Department Stores . It operated throughout New England and in New York.-Early years:...
  
   and Jordan Marsh
  Jordan Marsh
  Jordan Marsh & Company was a department store in Boston, Massachusetts, which grew to be a major regional chain in the New England area of the United States. In 1996, the last of the Jordan Marsh stores were converted to Macy's. The store was formerly part of Allied Stores and then Federated...
  
   hired the graduates for $6 per week. Simmons College
  Simmons College
  Simmons College may refer to:*Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky*Simmons College , a liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts...
  
   adopted this program in 1917; it continues with updates as the Prince Program in Retail Management.
• In 1907, The Women's Union took charge of the nation's first hot lunch program for public schools. Until 1944, the Union prepared up to 18,000 lunches every day for Boston public school students.
• In 1910, The Women's Union established the Appointment Bureau, known nationally for its vocational advising and placement of college educated women in fields other than teaching. The aviatrix Amelia Earhart
  Amelia Earhart
  Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
  
   sought job placement here two years before her historic flight over the Atlantic. Since then, The Women's Union has provided career and job help to hundreds of thousands of people.
• In 1913, The Women's Union opened the country's first credit union
  Credit union
  A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members...
  
  .
• In 1916, The Women's Union opened the Bookshop for Boys and Girls. The Bookshop published the Horn Book, the first publication in the United States to review children's books. The Horn Book was subsequently adopted by the federal government to help with book selection for elementary schools.
• In 1930, The Women's Union founded the Bureau of the Handicapped to provide training and employment for the physically handicapped. The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission oversees this area today.
• In 1965, The Women's Union published The Guide to Nursing and Rest Homes in Massachusetts. This valuable resource has been updated periodically and is now known as the Guide to Long-Term Care Alternatives in Massachusetts.
• In 1966, The Women's Union established the Homemaker Training Program in collaboration with the Boston Public Welfare Department.
• In 1967, The Women's Union began the Companions Unlimited program to provide visiting services for the elderly and adult disabled. In 1994, the Companions Unlimited friendly visiting program was adopted by MATCH-UP, Inc.
• In 1970, The Women's Union instituted the Family Day Care Program to train women and men to become licensed home day care providers. The program was taken over by Family Day Care of Brookline and is still operating today.
• In 1982, The Women's Union began the Amelia Earhart Award to honor a woman who has significantly contributed to the expansion of opportunities for women. This award is presented annually.
• In 1985, The Women's Union launched Massachusetts' first comprehensive transitional housing program for homeless and/or battered women with children. The Horizons Housing Program is based on self-help, self-esteem, skill building, and goal setting, with the aim of independent living for the family.
• In 1992, The Women's Union implemented a job training program for employment advisers, with the goal of equipping career changers, new entrants to the job market, and unemployed workers with the skills to provide job counseling to job changers.
• In 1995, The Women's Union undertook an intensive strategic planning process. The Plan for the Year 2000 renewed the Union's emphasis on advocacy for women and their families, and commits the Union's programs to the continued promotion of opportunities for all women.
• In 1996, The Women's Union successfully opened the Boston Career Link, one of Massachusetts' first One-Stop Career Centers, in partnership with Dimock Community Health Center and Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries. The Union also initiated plans for its new Work and Family Resource Center.
• In 1997, The Women's Union initiated "To Market, To Market" through The Shop at the Union. This economic and community development project provides women in all stages of product development with technical assistance and market access.
• In 1998, The Women's Union launched the Massachusetts Family Economic Self-Sufficiency (MassFESS) Project, a statewide coalition of organizations working to help families thrive. MassFESS released The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Massachusetts, to measure the real costs of living, working and paying taxes in the Commonwealth without subsidies.
• In 2000, The Women's Union published The Self-Sufficiency Standard: Where Massachusetts Families Stand, to make the case for helping those families achieve a family-sustaining income.
• In 2001, The Women's Union launched its Woman to Woman program, offering professional development and mentoring to low-income mothers to help them gain economic self-sufficiency while strengthening their families.
• In 2004, The Women's Union relocated to Government Center in a space that houses all program and advocacy offices, training facilities for home health care workers, conference rooms, and an on-site technology training center, which will accommodate up to 16 participants at one time.

The Amelia Earhart Award

In 1926, Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

 came to The Women’s Union for employment assistance and was placed as a social worker in a Boston immigrant settlement house. At the same time, she continued to pursue her interest in flying. In 1928, this former Union client became the first woman to cross the Atlantic in an airplane.

The Amelia Earhart Award was established in 1982 to recognize a woman who continues the pioneering spirit of Amelia Earhart. Each year, the award honors a woman who has significantly contributed to the expansion of opportunities for women.

Past Honorees:

2009 – Barbara Lynch

Barbara Lynch

Barbara Lynch is a musician/singer/songwriter from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her first album, Goodbye and Goodluck, was released by Duke Street Records in 1996. Lynch self-produced her second album, In the Nickelodeon...

2008 - Suze Orman

Suze Orman

Susan "Suze" Lynn Orman is an American financial advisor, author, motivational speaker, and television host.Orman was born in Chicago and received her B.A. in social work. She worked as a waitress in Berkeley, California before becoming a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch...

2006 - Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen

Anna Marie Quindlen is an American author, journalist, and opinion columnist whose New York Times column, Public and Private, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992. She began her journalism career in 1974 as a reporter for the New York Post...

2005 - Susan Hockfield
2004 - Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer and historian, and an oft-seen political commentator. She is the author of biographies of several U.S...

2003 - Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.-Early years:...

2002 - Ruth Simmons
2001 - Liz Walker
2000 - Gwen Ifill

Gwen Ifill

Gwendolyn L. "Gwen" Ifill is an American journalist, television newscaster and author. She is the managing editor and moderator of Washington Week and a senior correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, both of which air on PBS. She is a political analyst, and moderated the 2004 and 2008 Vice...

1999 - Julia Child

Julia Child

Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...

1998 - Evelyn Murphy
1997 - Eileen Moran Brown
1996 - Judge Joyce London Alexander
1995 - Elizabeth K. Levin
1993 - Deborah Jackson
1992 - Dr. Jane Schaller
1990 - Jovita Fontanez
1989 - Caroline Chang
1988 - Dr. Diane Balser
1987 - Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith
1986 - Juliet Brudney
1985 - Dr. Margaret Hennig and Dr. Anne Jardim
1984 - Jan Verhage
1983 - Dr. Brunetta Wolfman
1982 - Sharyn Bahn

Merger in 2006

In July 2006, the WEIU merged with Crittenton, Inc. to form Crittenton Women's Union

Crittenton Women's Union

Crittenton Women's Union is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit organization whose mission is to help low-income women and their families reach economic self-sufficiency.-Overview:...

, to better meet the needs of low-income women and their families.

Further reading

• Annual Report of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union 1880; 1908-1917

External links

• Google news archive. Articles about the WEIU
• http://womenshistory.about.com/od/worklaborunions/p/weiu.htm
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/brainspiration/347488567/