Klein, Gertrude W., 1893-1986

Gertrude W. Klein (1893-1986) was one of the first women elected to the City Council of New York. Born in Brooklyn, Klein was the daughter of socialist writer Joseph A. Weil. She studied political science at Columbia University, the New School for Social Research, and the Rand School of Social Science. An American Labor Party candidate from the Bronx, Klein was one of three women elected to the Council in 1941 and was re-elected in 1943. She ran as an independent in 1945 after the party refused to designate her for a third term, but lost to the party's candidate, Michael J. Quill, president of the Transport Workers Union. In 1946, Klein became the director of community service for Sachs Quality Stores, Inc., a position she held until the early 1950s. Klein was also active in the labor movement as educational director and as an organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.