Labor & Employment Law

Help Honor Mother Jones with a Commemorative Stamp

By Mike Hall

This silk screen by Rupert Garcia is possible artwork for a Mother Jones stamp.

Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mantle and Mickey Rooney have been honored with commemorative stamps by the U.S. Postal Service. So have obscure diplomats, comic book heroes, authors, architects, motorcycles and love birds.

All occupy a niche of American history and culture. Now labor historians and social activists say its time to honor someone who significantly improved the lives of America’s workers: Mary “Mother” Jones.

Mother Jones was a fearless fighter for workers’ rights:

Once labeled “the most dangerous woman in America” by a U.S. district attorney, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones rose to prominence as a fiery orator and fearless organizer for the Mine Workers during the first two decades of the 20th century.

Nearly anywhere coal miners, textile workers or steelworkers were fighting to organize a union, Mother Jones was there….She was banished from more towns and was held incommunicado in more jails in more states than any other union leader of the time.

Groups such as the West Virginia Labor Association and the Wisconsin Labor History Society are urging folks to get in touch with the U.S. Postal Service’s Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) to request a commemorative stamp in Mother Jones’ honor.

The CSAC does not take submissions online, but you can write a letter urging a Mother Jones stamp to:

Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
c/o Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
1735 North Lynn St., Suite 5013
Arlington, VA 22209-6432.

You also can click here for a sample letter.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on January 09, 2010 (boomark / email).