Macarthur, Mary Reid, 1880-1921, British labor organizer, b. Glasgow, Scotland. Working in her father's draper's shop, she became prominent in the shop assistants' union. As the representative of the women chain makers of Cradley Heath, she secured (1909) a minimum wage and led a strike to compel employers to pay the increase without delay. She visited the United States in 1920 as a British representative in the first labor conference convened under the League of Nations. She married (1911) William Crawford Anderson, chairman of the Independent Labour party.

Mary Reid aka Mary Reid MacArthur (1880-1921) was a Scottish suffragette and trades unionist. She was born in Glasgow and became politicised when she joined the shop assistant's union whilst working in her father draper's shop. In 1903 she became the general secretary of the Women's Trade Union League and in 1906 formed the National Federation of Women Workers and assisted in the creation of the National Anti-Sweating League. In 1909 Mary led the women chain makers of Cradley Heath to victory in their fight for a minimum wage and led a strike to force employers to implement the rise.

See also

• List of suffragists and suffragettes

References