On this day in 1857, New York City garment workers protested against inhumane working conditions, low wages, and for equal rights for women, an event that is commemorated annually as International Women’s Day. Their protest was attacked and broken up by police, but the labor action led to the creation of the first women’s labor union.

On the same day in 1908, 15,000 women marched in NYC for shorter work hours, better pay, voting rights, and an end to child labor. The slogan “Bread and Roses” emerged from the protest, with bread symbolizing economic security and roses for better living standards.

International Women’s Day in 1917 was also the date of the Russian February Revolution, in which workers celebrating International Women’s Day joined protests and riots against food rationing, with more than 50,000 people in the streets. The protests grew quickly and developed revolutionary fervor, eventually overthrowing the monarchy.

International Women’s Day (then International Working Women’s Day) was introduced during the 1910 International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Denmark. Clara Zetkin, a German socialist, suggested a holiday honoring the strike of garment workers in the U.S. The proposal received unanimous approval from the 100 women from 17 countries.

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