Vote for your Worker Rights Hero

1. Cast your vote here!

Throughout history, the movement for workers rights has been carried forward by everyday heroes. With your help, we are recognizing the largely hidden but nevertheless influential leaders of this movement.

Please vote for the Worker Rights Hero you think best exemplifies the spirit of SweatFree Communities. Of course, all four finalists, and all of the nominations received, are Heroes in our book. SFC staff and board members reviewed the several dozen nominees received and chose these four finalists based on the impact they have had on the principles behind SFC's work. The winner will be the namesake of our SweatFree Sustainers program, and we will explore and publicize her or his history and legacy in our work.

We hope that you also learn something new about the history of the worker rights movement through this voting process, which should take you no more than 3 minutes. And we hope you'll become a SweatFree Sustainer, making a small monthly donation to SweatFree Communities, in honor of your hero. Thank you for your vote and your support.

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1. Who is your Worker Rights Hero?

Who is your Worker Rights Hero? Clara Lemlich: Nominated by Rachel Levinson-Emley, California. Immigrant garment worker Clara Lemlich made her indelible mark on the labor movement at the age of 22 when her emotional speech at a meeting of shirtwaist workers in 1909 brought the crowd to its feet and inspired thousands of garment workers to join the walkout forever known in history books as the Uprising of the 20,000. An early member of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union, elected to the Union's board before her twentieth birthday, Clara was also a devoted adherent to the cause of women's suffrage. What Clara represents for us: The youthful face of the sweatfree movement, and workers' power to organize for change not only in their own industry but for workers' rights for all.

Helen "Ma" Armstrong: Nominated by Catherine Stearns, Winnipeg, Canada. Dubbed by the mainstream media as the "Wild Woman of the West," Helen Armstrong was one of only two women on the workers Committee of Fifty who led the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. She organized Labour Cafés to feed the thousands of young women who were thrown out of work because of the General Strike, and went on tour to raise money for the imprisoned strike leaders. Helen sat on the first Minimum Wage Board in Winnipeg, later getting involved in local politics when she moved to the U.S. What Helen represents for us: An intrepid spirit, a commitment to supporting the workers who put everything on the line to fight for their rights, and a willingness to take a public stand.

Maida Springer-Kemp: Nominated by Victoria Kaplan, Indiana. Working in New York City sweatshops during the Great Depression, Maida Springer Kemp joined the ILGWU in 1933. She was at the forefront of the movement for international labor solidarity and in 1945 became the first African American woman to represent the U.S. labor movement overseas. From 1955 to 1965, "Mama Maida," as she was warmly called, represented the AFL-CIO in Africa, organizing workers and democratic unions and supporting anti-colonial struggles despite the AFL's Cold War politicking. Mama Maida passed away in 2005 in Pittsburgh, sharing roots with the Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance. What Maida represents for us: The power of international solidarity and the drive to break down barriers.

Chea Vichea: Nominated by Eric Dirnbach, New York. Chea Vichea was a Cambodian garment worker and president of Cambodia's largest union representing garment workers, the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia. An outspoken advocate for human rights and workers rights, Vichea was assassinated on January 22, 2004 with three bullets while reading the paper at a newsstand in broad daylight in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He had previously been fired from his garment factory job for his union organizing. What Chea represents for us: The fearlessness of movement leaders, worker leadership, and the very real and urgent need to organize for safety and justice.

Vote for your Worker Rights Hero

1. Cast your vote here!

*1. Who is your Worker Rights Hero?

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1. Who is your Worker Rights Hero?