Crystal Lee Sutton

Crystal Lee Sutton (née Pulley; December 31, 1940 – September 11, 2009) was an American union organizer and advocate who gained fame during the early 1970s when a popular movie was based on events related to her being fired from her job at the J.P. Stevens plant in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina for trying to unionize its employees.

Union activism and recognition

Complaints about pay and working conditions at the J.P. Stevens factory stimulated Sutton and her fellow employees to rebel. She joined forces with Eli Zivkovich, a union organizer in an attempt to unionize the J.P. Stevens employees. “Management and others treated me as if I had leprosy,” she stated. Sutton earned $2.65 per hour folding towels ($14.17 in 2015 inflation adjusted dollars).