Fannie Never Flinched: "A Storm Center for Bullets"–"Fannie Finds Her Voice"

by Mary Cronk Farrell
This nonfiction book chronicles the life Fannie Sellins, a garment worker and labor organizer who was tragically murdered on August 26, 1919.

This list covers "A Storm Center for Bullets"–"Fannie Finds Her Voice."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. racket
    a loud and disturbing noise
    Fannie’s head pounded from the racket of the high-speed sewing machines.
  2. mechanize
    introduce automatic or electrical equipment into a process
    Dozens of mechanized needles pumping up and down sounded a continuous clickety-clack, clickety-clack over the rumble of foot treadles and the whir of spinning spools of thread.
  3. bleary
    tired to the point of exhaustion
    Finishing a pocket, Fannie rubbed her bleary eyes and moved on to the next.
  4. labor
    work hard
    Girls as young as ten and women old enough to be grandmothers labored alongside her. They worked ten- to fourteen-hour days, six days a week.
  5. stifling
    characterized by oppressive heat and humidity
    The building was hot and stifling in the summer—and bitter cold in the winter.
  6. flimsy
    lacking solidity or strength
    “All the doors were locked from the outside at 7:15 each morning. Sometimes it made me sick to think what would happen in that big flimsy barracks if a fire should come,” Fannie said.
  7. toil
    work hard
    Toiling at her sewing machine, Fannie stitched together a dream.
  8. wage
    payment for work
    “If we earned a fair wage, your children wouldn’t have to work,” she said.
  9. clout
    special advantage or influence
    Uniting forces would give workers more clout to bargain with their employers.
  10. concession
    a point that is yielded
    Despite Marx & Haas Clothing Company’s concessions to the labor union, the workrooms were crowded and the air was filthy.
  11. tuberculosis
    infection transmitted by inhalation or ingestion of bacilli
    Many of the employees got sick with tuberculosis, a highly contagious, incurable disease that often became fatal.
  12. dock
    deduct from someone's wages
    Although the boss had ordered the tailor to take the stairs, he refused. The boss docked him a week’s pay.
  13. scab
    someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike
    Union members used the word scab for strikebreakers, people willing to cross the picket line and work during a strike. It was an insult, as if calling someone lousy or rotten.
  14. picket
    take part in a strike or protest
    So many workers refused to cross the picket line, the plant nearly had to close. Marx & Haas went to court to stop the picketing.
  15. dispute
    a disagreement or argument about something important
    One month into the labor dispute, UGWA Local 67’s president died of tuberculosis, and Fannie became president.
  16. pneumonia
    a serious illness of the lungs that makes it difficult to breathe
    A cut might not seem serious, but continually reaching into tubs of dirty water for the shells, the girls risked fatal infection. At the time, there were more cases of pneumonia, typhus, and gangrene among button factory laborers than in any other industry.
  17. gangrene
    the localized death of living cells
    A cut might not seem serious, but continually reaching into tubs of dirty water for the shells, the girls risked fatal infection. At the time, there were more cases of pneumonia, typhus, and gangrene among button factory laborers than in any other industry.
  18. industry
    the people engaged in a kind of commercial enterprise
    A cut might not seem serious, but continually reaching into tubs of dirty water for the shells, the girls risked fatal infection. At the time, there were more cases of pneumonia, typhus, and gangrene among button factory laborers than in any other industry.
  19. ruckus
    the act of making a noisy disturbance
    People jumped to their feet, clapping and whooping so hard, the ruckus nearly shook the building.
  20. substantially
    to a great extent or degree
    Working conditions did not substantially improve, but the company agreed to re-hire union workers and raise wages.
Created on Mon Apr 18 13:00:24 EDT 2022 (updated Mon Apr 25 13:30:43 EDT 2022)

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