First Woman Elected to Akron City Council
Virginia Frances Beck Etheredge, outspoken advocate of the union, was a positive force in helping to establish better relations between industry and labor.
Born in Lasca, Ala., and being one of nine children, Etheredge understood the importance of working together for the good of the whole. It was this thinking that enabled her to stand up for the rights of coworkers at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company during the labor strikes of the 1930s.
Having moved to Akron with her husband, Wiley J. when they were first married, Etheredge received the endorsement of Labor’s Non-Partisan League to serve as a council representative for factory workers. She won the election and became the first woman in that office in 1938 as a Ward 10 representative.
Etheredge was known in her neighborhood as a champion for causes involving the underdog. Her membership in Goodyear’s Local No. 2 of the United Rubber Workers (U.R.W.) was no different. She also served as the first recording secretary for the union. A skilled spokesperson, she used this ability to insist that Akron City Council find a way to work out problems between labor and industry.
When she was not involved in disputes between labor and industry, Etheredge worked on the Akron Recreation Commission. She and her husband were parents of one son, William J., and she was keenly interested in the parks and playgrounds of Summit County.
Etheredge was killed in a car accident in 1964, even as her name was on the ballot for a third term re-election. Always true to her long-held beliefs, in the November 3, 1937 issue of the Akron Beacon Journal, Etheredge is quoted as saying, “I want to have a part in bringing about the rehabilitation of Akron-the city without labor strife, instead of one of the leading cities with it.”
Photo courtesy Woman’s History Project of the Akron Area
—Penny Fox
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