In February 1864, Kate Mullany, a young Irish immigrant, formed and led America's first all-female Union -- The Troy Collar Laundry Union -- on a successful strike winning a 25 percent wage increase and improved safety and working conditions. Mullany became nationally prominent, serving as the first woman officer of a national union. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls in 2000.
The Mullany House at 350 Eighth Street in Troy was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior in 1998 and a National Historic Site by an Act of Congress in 2004. The house is owned and being restored by the nonprofit American Labor Studies Center through a series of state grants and private donations.
Each year, the organization recognizes individuals who have been supporters of the Mullany House restoration. This year, they will honor Barbara Jones, the Consul General of Ireland; Congressman Paul Tonko; and NYSUT President Karen Magee. The reception will be held at NYSUT Headquarters, 800 Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham, on December 12, 2016 from 6-8 pm. Tickets can be reserved at $50 each, and ads for the reception journal can be placed. Donations to the project are always accepted, and needed to meet a 25 percent match required by the current grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, as well as to fund a furnishings plan.
Tickets, or ads for the reception can be purchased, and donations can be made, through the project website at http://www.katemullanynhs.org/.