Newman, Pauline

Pauline Newman ran for election as New York Secretary of State in 1908 on the Socialist ticket and lost. She used her campaign to advocate for woman suffrage. In 1918 she ran in the New York primary as a candidate for the House of Representatives, and again lost. Newman worked at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in the early 1900s, which exposed her to factory conditions. In 1907, she led a large rent strike, which started her involvement with the Socialist Party. In 1913, she was appointed to be an inspector for the New York State Factory Investigating Commission (FIC), where she worked with other labor activists including Francis Perkins, and gave factory tours to local politicians in an attempt to win support for labor reform legislation. When lobbying for labor legislation, she focused particularly on laws that would protect female workers. On issues of suffrage and labor reform, she worked with Therese Malkiel, who also ran for Congress in 1918. Newman moved to Philadelphia in 1917 to build a new branch of the Women's Trade Union League. She moved back to New York in 1923. Newman made written contributions to various socialist and progressive publications throughout her life. In 1923, she became the director for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Health Center, and she continued working for the ILGWU throughout the rest of her life.