Florence Anderson (trade unionist)
Florence Anderson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Florence Meyer February 17, 1871 Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | December 18, 1949 (aged 78) Smith St, North Richmond |
| Resting place | Burwood Cemetery, Victoria |
| Occupation | Trade Unionist |
| Known for | first female trade union secretary in Victoria, Australia |
Florence Anderson (née Meyer; 1871–1949)[1][2][3] was the first female trade union secretary in Victoria, Australia. Anderson was born in Bairnsdale, Victoria.[1] She married John Anderson in 1911 and bore three children. After her husband died she became a cleaner, but according to the Biographical Register of the Australian Labour Movement 1788-1975 she "rebelled from expectation that cleaners take office towels home to launder" and joined the Female Office Cleaners Union part-time from 1916 and later became a full-time worker in 1919.[1] In 1920 she was made the chair of the Worker's Board with Henry E. Bessell and Richard Brooks.[4]
Anderson was elected the Victorian Secretary of the Miscellaneous Workers Union (the "missos") in 1930, holding office until 1946.[1][2] She was active in advocating for equal pay, in particular for cleaners who were often women and who worked long hours for little pay. In an interview for The Labor Call, Anderson called them "Workers of the Dawn, and Dusk too", and that,
If you could only stop to think how very necessary these women are. What a service they render. The whole of the big city buildings have to be cleansed every day. The work is of a domestic nature, and it is proved beyond a doubt that the women make the better cleaners, besides being cheaper than male labor. ... These poor women have been buoyed up in the past with the hope, when their children reached a working age, they could supplement the income and make the burden lighter for them. The tragedy of it all is that for the past two years not in one case out of ten can the children find employment, and the unfortunate mother discovers that today her purchasing power has rapidly declined.[5]
She died at her home in Smith St, North Richmond on December 20, 1949 and was buried at Burwood Cemetery.[2][3][6]
References
- ^ a b c d "Anderson, Florence (1871–1949)", Biographical Register of the Australian Labour Movement 1788-1975, Australian National University, 2012, retrieved 1 January 2020
- ^ a b c Death of woman unionist, Melbourne: The Argus, 20 December 1949, p. 6
- ^ a b "Funeral notices", Florence Anderson, Melbourne: The Age, 20 December 1949, p. 6
- ^ The Labour Circle, Melbourne: Advocate, 28 February 1920, p. 31
- ^ The Miscellaneous Workers and Wage Cuts: Secretary Mrs. Florence Anderson Speaks Out, Melbourne: The Labor Call, 14 July 1932, p. 11
- ^ "Woman Labor leader for 35 years, dies". Melbourne: The Herald. 19 December 1949. p. 2.