On this day in labor history, the year was 1908.
That was the day the United States Supreme Court decided the case, Muller v. Oregon.
It was a landmark decision in the realm of protective labor legislation.
It restricted the workday to 10 hours for women.
Laundry owner, Curt Muller, required his female employees to work more than 10 hours a day, against Oregon labor laws.
The Supreme Court upheld his conviction and fine.
Protective labor legislation was a product of the reform social movements of the Progressive Era.
Reformers like Jane Addams worked to protect women from industrial dangers that bred physical and moral harm to women.
The decision drove a class-based wedge within the women’s movement that lasted for much of the 20th century.
Working class women generally supported protective labor legislation like Muller.
But Equal Rights Advocates like Alice Paul opposed it.
They argued that protective legislation like Muller rested on stereotypes regarding differences between men and women.
These differences often fueled anti-woman discrimination, state control and financial dependency.
As well, critics remarked the ruling set a precedent for women’s biology as child-bearers, as a basis for separate legislation.
Only later would working class critics note that the ruling did not cover domestics, agricultural workers, or white-collar workers.
The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act would supplant some parts of Muller with its guarantees for workers of both sexes.
Many working class women later welcomed the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in 1965, which prohibited employment discrimination.
Some would concede the many flaws of protective labor legislation that held women back.
But women’s rights advocates would continue to debate protective legislation and the Equal Rights Amendment well into the 1970s.
October 2 - Rebuilding in Tough Times
October 1 - The Jerry Level
September 30 - The Elaine, Arkansas Massacre
September 29 - Creating a Standing Army
September 28 - Solidarity on the Docks
September 27 - Wreck of the Old ‘97
September 26 - Disaster on the Job Around the Globe
September 25 - Martyred for the Vote
September 24 - Banned in Canada
September 23 - Dr. Harriet Louise Hardy is Born
September 22 - The First Farm Aid
September 21 - Fighting Just to Maintain Standards
September 20 - The Fight for Equality
September 19 - The End of My Sweet Jennie
September 18 - The Atlanta Compromise
September 17 - Striking in the South
September 16 - NHL Managers Lock Out Players
September 15 - The Invergordon Mutiny
September 14 - The Murder of Ella Mae Wiggins
September 13 - Attica!
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