Born in Russian Poland in 1882, Rose Schneiderman has come to be
             known as the woman who taught Eleanor Roosevelt everything she knew about
             trade unionism (Rose pp). Noted for her activism in women's labor rights,
             Schneiderman played a key role in helping to change the labor laws in the
             An Orthodox Jew, Schneiderman and her family were desperately poor
             even though both of her parents were employed as tailors (Rose pp). At her
             mother's insistence, Schneiderman attended a traditional Hebrew school and
             later a Russian public school (Rose pp). In 1890 the family moved to the
             United States and settled in New York City's Lower East Side (Rose pp). In
             1892 her father, Samuel, died of meningitis and her mother Deborah took in
             borders and sewed for neighbors to help combat the family's dire economic
             condition, however, despite her efforts, the family descended into poverty
             and eventually was forced to rely on charity to meet its basic financial
             obligations, such as rent and food (Rose pp). To help support her family,
             Schneiderman dropped out of school at the age of thirteen and began working
             as a department store sales clerk (Rose pp). Despite her mother's
             objections, she left her sales job after three years to work in the garment
             industry for better pay, although it was more dangerous work (Rose pp). By
             1903, Schneiderman had organized her first union shop, the Jewish Socialist
             United Cloth Hat and Cap Makers' Union, where she soon developed a
             reputation as an effective leader after organizing a successful strike
             opposing an open-shop policy (Rose pp). By 1907, Rose Schneiderman was
             devoting most of her time to the Women's Trade Union League of which she
             later referred to as "the most important influence on my life" (Rose pp).
             She was elected vice-president of the New York chapter in 1908, and due to
             a stipend provided by a member, Schneiderman was able to devote full-time
             ...