Lucille Thornburgh

Lucille Thornburgh (September 18, 1908 – November 7, 1998) was an American labor organizer. Thornburgh was a union leader in Tennessee during the textile workers' strike of 1934 and worked for the American Federation of Labor in Knoxville for nearly thirty years. She also edited the East Tennessee Labor News for many years.

Early life and education

Lucille Thornburgh was born on September 18, 1908, in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. She was one of six children of Thomas and Harriet Swaggerty Thornburgh. The "terrible conditions" she endured as a worker echoed that of other textile mill workers: cotton lint filled the air, and temperatures were stifling. Thornburgh and six other employees unofficially organized the Cherokee mill in 1933 and presented the managers with a list of grievances.

Thornburgh died in Knoxville on November 7, 1998. She was buried in the cemetery at Pleasant Grove Piney Baptist Church in Jefferson County, Tennessee.