TSOTM Jun 2024: Dagenham Women Strike
TSOTM Jun 2024: Dagenham Women Strike
TSOTM Jun 2024: Dagenham Women Strike
TSOTM Jun 2024: Dagenham Women Strike
TSOTM Jun 2024: Dagenham Women Strike

TSOTM Jun 2024: Dagenham Women Strike

Regular price
$54.00
Sale price
$54.00
Unit price
per 

Our T-Shirt of the Month for June 2024, made of 100% organic cotton by a worker-owned co-operative, and supporting grassroots labour unions in South Asia.

    It celebrates the women workers at Ford’s Dagenham plant in England who walked out on strike for equal pay with male workers on 7 June 1968. The women, who sewed car seats, were classified as "unskilled", while men working at the same or similar jobs were classified as "skilled", and so were paid at a higher rate. All 187 women walked out, but even though the thousands of men in the plant remained at work, car production was brought to a complete standstill. Around 200 women at another UK Ford factory walked out in support. Initially, Ford refused to negotiate. One of the workers, Eileen Pullen, later recounted to the Guardian: "Some of the men said: 'Good for you girl', but others said: 'Get back to work, you're only doing it for pin money'… But our wages weren't for pin money, they were to help with the cost of living, to pay your mortgage and help pay all your bills. It wasn't pocket money. No woman would go out to work just for pocket money, would she? Not if she's got a family". After three weeks, the strikers eventually agreed to return to work for 92% of the men’s wages (up from 85%) in a deal brokered by the government. The strike was the key reason for the Equal Pay Act of 1970, although nominal pay equality at Ford was only achieved after a later strike in 1984.


    Design by Scotland-based labor activist and cartoonist Jamie-Max Caldwell. It is a take on a photograph of the women with their banner declaring "We want sex equality" partially unfurled so that only "We want sex" was visible. The photograph was published by a newspaper deliberately trying to disparage or ridicule the women. This couldn't stop the women Ford machinists of 1968 though as they kept strong, stuck together, and thus helped improve the conditions not just for themselves but for women across the country.

    • 100% organic cotton, single jersey, 160 g/m², 0% elastane in fabric
    • High-quality water-based print: environmentally and skin-friendly ink certified under the Global Organic Textile Standard
      Unisex fit s
      izes: S - M - L - XL - 2XL – 3XL - 4XL - 5XL
    • Made with dignity by the worker-owned Humana Nova cooperative
    • Supports grassroots labour unions in South Asia through ExChains
    • Learn more about our 'T-Shirt of the Month' collaboration with dna merch here
    • Printed individually just for you, with no overproduction or waste
    • Global shipping, from France

    Size guide
    Please make sure to carefully choose your size by checking the size chart below.

    Width: Measured 2cm (1in) beneath the sleeves across the shirt
    Length: Measured from the highest point of the shoulder to the bottom end of the shirt

      S M L XL 2XL 3XL 4XL 5XL
    Width (in) 19 21 22 24 25.5 26.5 27.5 33.0
    Length (in) 28 29 30 31 31.5 32 29.0 33.5
    Width (cm) 48 53 56 60.5 64.5 68 70 84
    Length (cm) 71 74 76.5 79 80.5 82  74.5 85


    When will I receive my t-shirt?

    Printing of each T-Shirt of the Month will take approximately one week after being ordered. The shirts will then be shipped from France, and delivery should take up to one week for Europe, and up to 2 weeks for the rest of the world.

    In the unlikely event that shirts from dna merch are out of stock, design will instead be printed on an organic t-shirt from fairwear foundation leader Stanley & Stella instead.