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Learn More About Our Union Heroes

Now that you’ve taken our Union Heroes quiz and discovered who you most resemble, take a moment to learn more about other historical labor leaders. You might find another hero on this page to inspire you!

Dolores Huerta: The Organizer 

You're the glue that keeps the team together. You know how to build consensus and power. When lots of people bring different ideas to the table, you know how to get them all moving in the same direction.

Dolores Huerta rose to prominence as the co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW). Alongside Cesar Chavez, Huerta organized the historic 1965 Delano grape strike. Today, Huerta continues to build power as president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. ¡Sí, se puede!

Frances Perkins: The Visionary

You're the one with all the big ideas. You know what your coworkers need to thrive on the job and in your communities. You make your workplace safer and more effective, and you fight for ideas that work.

Throughout her life, Frances Perkins was a fierce advocate for workers. A policy trailblazer, Perkins served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She executed much of the New Deal, as well as the Social Security Act and Fair Labor Standards Act, the latter of which established the first nationwide minimum and overtime laws.

Walter Philip Reuther: The Action Taker

When something needs to get done, your coworkers turn to you. You're not afraid to take the action needed to get results.

Walter Reuther was a long-time president of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), where the Flint sit-down strike he orchestrated in 1936-37 profoundly changed the history of organized labor in America by opening the door to union contracts for autoworkers and promoting unionization in related industries. Reuther also became a key ally in the civil rights movement, viewing labor struggles as intrinsically linked to the fight for racial equality and women's rights.

A. Philip Randolph: The Strategist 

You're the brains of the operation. Your coworkers look to you to figure out exactly when and how and where to take action effectively. You're a leader and a problem solver who knows how to win.

A. Philip Randolph was a civil rights hero and labor icon. Randolph first became involved with labor organizing by organizing a union of New York City elevator operators -- later being elected president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Through his success organizing African-American workers, Randolph became a visible civil rights leader, the force behind numerous key civil rights victories.

Mother Jones: The Rabble Rouser

You’re always on the front lines. Likely a gifted speaker, you know how to inspire your coworkers to keep up the fight to make sure everyone in your workplace – and community – continue to thrive.

Mary G. Harris Jones, also known as "Mother Jones," was once called "the most dangerous woman in America" by a U.S. district attorney. A school teacher and dressmaker by trade, Jones became a union hero through her fearless work organizing mill and mine workers in the late 19th and early 20th century. Jones was a fierce orator, and notably involved women and children in the strikes she organized.

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