THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Winn Newman

March 8, 1924 – June 24, 1994

“All employers have segregated male and female workers over the years, so virtually every employer is therefore guilty of discrimination in compensation.” – Winn Newman, attorney, 1984

Leading labor, civil rights and women’s rights lawyer and a pioneer in the fight for pay equity for women and minorities. Co-led the successful fight to desegregate the University of Wisconsin dorms while in law school. Union organizer in Texas in the ’50s. Chaired the ADA National Executive Board. General counsel for AFSCME, and spearheaded AFSCME’s successful pay equity campaign during the 1980s. Leader of Americans for Democratic Action (ADA). 

Photo. Winn Newman speaks at the 1981 Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) banquet. Photographer: Morton Broffman.