Ella May was a textile worker, balladeer, single mother of nine, and a union organizer. She was a key leader in the Loray Strike
due to her popular rally songs. She sang mostly about her poor working
conditions, inability to feed her family on her low wages, and the need for
unionization. Her best known song is The Mill Mother’s Lament (shown below),
which was sang at her funeral. She was employed at a nearby mill in Bessemer
City, NC where she was a member of the local NTWU branch. She worked six days a
week for twelve hours each day and only made around $9.00 a week. This was not
nearly enough to care for her nine children and four of them died from
illnesses after she could not afford medicine for them. She was pregnant with
another child when she was shot and killed on September 14. Her remaining five
children (shown in the photo below) were sent to live in an orphanage after her death. Ella May Wiggins is
still very well-known in Bessemer City and the surrounding cities because of
her role in the Loray Strike. (Powell)
The Mother's Lament by Ella May Wiggins
We leave our homes in the morning,
We kiss our children good-bye,
While we slave for the bosses,
Our children scream and cry.
And when we draw our money,
Our grocery bills to pay,
Not a cent to spend for clothing,
Not a cent to lay away…
It is for our little children,
That seem to us so dear,
But for us nor them, dear workers,
The bosses do not care.
But understand, all workers,
Our union they do fear.
Let’s stand together, workers,
And have a union here.
We kiss our children good-bye,
While we slave for the bosses,
Our children scream and cry.
And when we draw our money,
Our grocery bills to pay,
Not a cent to spend for clothing,
Not a cent to lay away…
It is for our little children,
That seem to us so dear,
But for us nor them, dear workers,
The bosses do not care.
But understand, all workers,
Our union they do fear.
Let’s stand together, workers,
And have a union here.