Here, the secretary of the Federation is speaking to a group of workers, most of whom are women. At that time, women comprised two thirds of the union's membership. Between 1906 and 1908, the union succeeded in obtaining a wage increase of twenty-five percent for mill workers. The cotton industry was one of the first sectors in which women were members of a labour union. It is not surprising to see female workers at the union meeting dressed in their finest attire. Despite their small wages, they were extremely well dressed.
