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1930s: The women were fearless 

The first big sit-down of a mainly female workforce involved cigar workers in Detroit. There were 4,000 women, most of them Polish, working in six shops . . .

By March 5 strikers at two plants were leading a victory march of 1,000 people through the Polish community.

On March 20, however, Detroit Mayor Couzens launched a counterattack. Detroit’s police broke down the doors of the Bernard Schwartz plant, dragging the fighting women out by their arms, clothing and hair. Police beat sympathizers, even throwing a pregnant woman off her porch. Three days later, 200,000 people protested in Cadillac Square. Feeling labor’s outrage, Michigan Gov. Frank Murphy called the two sides together on April 22. The next day every cigar shop in Detroit had a union contract.

These women cigar workers had, meanwhile, inspired other women in Detroit.

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