James Maurer (1864-1944)
Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Labor leader and advocate for child labor reform, pensions, and the state's first workers' compensation act. Self-educated, Maurer was elected president of the Penn-sylvania Federation of Labor from 1912-1928. He served as state legislator from Reading as a Socialist (1910-1918). He ran unsuccessfully for vice president of the United States on the Socialist ticket in 1928 and 1932. He was a lifelong Reading resident.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
James Maurer rose from a self-educated Reading laborer to become one of Pennsylvania's most influential labor leaders, serving as president of the state Federation of Labor from 1912 to 1928. A committed Socialist, he won election to the state legislature and championed reforms that reshaped working life—child labor restrictions, old-age pensions, and Pennsylvania's first workers' compensation law—before twice running for vice president on the Socialist ticket in 1928 and 1932.
Why it matters
Maurer helped build the legal foundations of the American workplace safety net during the Progressive Era, when organized labor and Socialist politics pushed reforms that would later become mainstream protections for workers.
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