Sara Agnes Mclaughlin Conboy (April 3, 1870 – January 7, 1928) was a labor organizer in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She was born Sara Agnes Mclaughlin in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. At the age of 11 she began working in a candy factory, then spent time in a button factory before becoming a skilled weaver. During this period she was married to a mailman named Joseph P. Conboy, but he died two years afterward. While working at a carpet factory in Roxbury, she led a strike that lasted from 1909–10. Rising to prominence in the

labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

, Sara helped organize the

United Textile Workers of America The United Textile Workers of America (UTW) was a North American trade union established in 1901. History The United Textile Workers of America was founded following two conferences in 1901 under the aegis of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) ...

, eventually becoming their secretary-treasurer in 1915.(9 May 1919)
Mrs. Sara A. Conboy - Helped Textile Workers To Get 48-Hour Week
''

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'' During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

she was appointed to the

Council of National Defense The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial s ...

. In 1920 she was the first woman to serve as a

delegate to the

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Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

. She was also the first woman to direct a bank in the state of

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, and she served on several government committees.(9 January 1928)
Mrs. Sara Conboy, Labor Leader, Dies
''

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conboy, Sara 1870 births 1928 deaths American weavers Activists from Boston American women textile artists Trade unionists from Massachusetts American women trade unionists Leaders of the United Textile Workers of America