Sarah Wesker (1901–1971) was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist active in the garment industry in the East End of London in the 1920s and 1930s.

Biography

Wesker grew up in the Rothschild Buildings, a block of flats in

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

, tenanted mainly by

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

families. She was on the executive committee of the

National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers The National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers (NUTGW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded as the Tailors and Garment Workers' Union (T&GWU) in 1920 with the merger of the Scottish Operative Tailors and T ...

(NUTGW) before joining the United Ladies Tailors' Trade Union (ULTTU), a Jewish trade union. Wesker was involved in the organisation of many strikes by garment workers in the East End. At Goodman's trouser factory in 1926, where she worked as a machinist, she led the all-female workforce in a walk out demanding a farthing a pair. In 1928 she organised 600 young women at the Rego Factory on Bethnal Green Road. The strike lasted for 12 weeks until the workers won at Christmas. As the strike was not recognised by the national leadership of the NUTGW, the workers raised money by singing "strike songs" and collecting money around London, activities orchestrated by Wesker. In 1929 she took a leading part in the strike at Polikoff's, a factory at 148-160

Mare Street Mare Street is a street in the London Borough of Hackney. It has existed since the 15th century, when it was one of the first roads at the centre of the parish. It was then known as ''Merestret''. The word ''mere'' was either the Old English ' ...

in Hackney.There the strikers also sang. In 1930 she led a strike at the Simpson factory, also in Hackney. In 1929, Wesker was a founding member of the United Clothing Workers' Union (UCWU). She was the only female member of its executive committee, and later became its full-time women's organiser. The UCWU was absorbed into the NUTGW in 1935. Wesker again sat on the NUTGW executive committee and her appointment in 1937 as NUTGW women's organiser signalled a new approach to female workers. She helped women to become organised in a number of large factories. Wesker was elected to the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

's Central Committee at the 12th Congress in 1932. Along with other women, she took part in the Battle of Cable Street on 4 October 1936. Wesker was fluent in English and Yiddish and was known to be a fiery speaker, able to inspire the older women workers in the factories. The playwright Arnold Wesker was her nephew, and based the character Sarah in his play '' Chicken Soup with Barley'' on his aunt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wesker, Sarah 1901 births 1971 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members English Jews English trade unionists People from Spitalfields British women trade unionists