A tiny woman who was larger than life
NorthJersey.com, NJ
A Paterson native, a former reporter and a legendary Washington lobbyist, Evelyn “Evy” Dubrow left her mark on the nation’s labor movement. She was a forceful advocate for the textile industry for more than a half-century, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton in 1999.
Clinton said she was “a tiny woman larger than life.” On Tuesday, she died of a heart attack at age 95.
U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg delivered a statement of tribute to Dubrow from the floor of the Senate on Thursday.
Lautenberg said:
“Mr. President, I rise to celebrate the life and work of Evelyn “Evy” Dubrow, a longtime champion for working people in our country, who passed away this week at the age of 95.
“Evy was loved by many members of Congress, but I think I will miss her more than most. She came from my hometown of Paterson, N.J. Her parents were immigrants, like my own mother and father. And one of her first jobs was as a reporter at the Paterson Morning Call, which was our local newspaper.
“Evy soon moved into union work, first as a secretary for the textile workers union, and then as an assistant to the president of the New Jersey Congress of Industrial Organizations.
“In 1956, she came to Washington as a lobbyist for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. At that time lobbying was almost exclusively a man’s world – but although Evy stood just a little bit shy of five feet tall, she never backed down from anyone.
“Although she eventually became vice president of the ILGWU, and later of the textile workers union UNITE, she continued to fight here on Capitol Hill for issues that affect working people – especially women.
“She was a lobbyist in the most honorable sense of the profession, because she never tried to browbeat or buy a vote. She simply told you why she felt her position was right – and she always did it with conviction. In 1982, a Washington business newspaper named her one of the town’s 10 best lobbyists.
“In 1999, President Clinton awarded the Medal of Freedom to Evy. It was quite an honor for a daughter of immigrants from Paterson – and it made me proud.
“Evy never married, but she doted on her nieces and nephews, and five grand-nieces. And workers all across the country thought of her as family. They loved her and trusted her to look out for them.
“Everyone who cares about working people will miss Evy. We should also give thanks for her long life and the many things she accomplished. And we must honor her memory by carrying on her fight for fair pay, better education and job training, and safer conditions for working people.”
