Evelyn Dubrow, 95, Advocated for Workers’ Rights
Evelyn “Evy” Dubrow, a respected and widely known champion of workers’ rights, died June 20 at the age of 95.
Dubrow rose to prominence in Washington political circles as a lobbyist for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union — a position from which she pushed for a higher minimum wage, fair trade laws, family and medical leave policies, and civil rights.
The daughter of Belarusian immigrants, Dubrow joined her first trade union, The Newspaper Guild, while working for the newspaper The Morning Call in her hometown of Patterson, N.J. She soon began working on union issues full time, and in 1956 she was hired by legendary labor leader David Dubinsky to be the ILGWU representative in Washington.
From her first campaign on Capitol Hill — opposing a proposal that would outlaw secondary boycotts — the 4-foot-11 inch Dubrow quickly became known for her spirited and tenacious efforts to protect the rights of low-wage workers. In 1999, President Clinton presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in honor of her lifetime of service.
“Working Americans have lost a great friend and champion, and all of America has lost a tireless advocate for social justice,” Senator Edward Kennedy remarked this week on Dubrow’s passing.
Dubrow, who never married, is survived by several nieces and nephews.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO