Mary Fitzgerald (trade unionist)

thumb|Mary Fitzgerald (c. 1915) Mary Fitzgerald also known as Pickhandle Mary, was an Irish-born South African political activist and trade unionist. She was considered the first female trade unionist in South Africa and became the country's first female master printer. She was also the first woman to be elected to the Johannesburg City Council and later served as Deputy Mayor of Johannesburg. She was active in workers' strikes, women's suffrage and socialist politics. Quotes The small property qualification inflicts no appreciable hardship on the working man, but owing to the economic dependence of married working women, it is entirely inapplicable to the majority of them. South African History Online “This is Labuschagne’s baby, the child of the man that you shot.” South African Researcher (shouted while holding the child of a killed striker at a 1913 meeting addressed by General Jan Smuts) Quotes About [Mary Fitzgerald] She was a consistent advocate in the Voice of Labour for women’s enfranchisement, equal pay and opportunity, and for racially integrated industrial unions rather than craft-based exclusivity. Dictionary of Irish Biography (summary of her contributions as co-editor and writer, 1909–1912) During the 1911 tramway strikes she led women in direct action, including sitting on the tracks to stop scab drivers, and later headed the “Pickhandle Brigade” that enforced solidarity at meetings. City of Johannesburg (contemporary accounts of her leadership) External links Category:South African women Category:Irish emigrants to South Africa Category:Trade unionists Category:Suffragists Category:1883 births Category:1960 deaths