Today I learned that actress/singer Penny Singleton, best known for the 28 BLONDIE films she made in the 40s, as well as being the voice of Jane Jetson, was also a badass labor activist. She was an active, vocal member, & twice president, of the American Guild of Variety Artists, speaking out against the exploitation of women in the variety arts, & supporting the rights of strippers and exotic dancers. In 1967 she led a successful strike by the Rockettes for better working conditions.

She testified before a Senate subcommittee in 1962 about the AGVA union's treatment of women. "I charge here and now that the exotic and strip artists have been abandoned and made outcasts by the very union to which they pay dues for representation and protection." She was willing to stand up for strippers in 1962. THAT is backbone, folks.

She the first woman president of an AFL-CIO union. She once said, "Women are really leaders. A lot of them don't even know they are leaders. But they are." Damn straight, girl.

#labor #UnappreciatedHeroes #DeservesToBeBetterKnown