Mollie Lieber West

In 1990, West was inducted into the Chicago Women's Hall of Fame, and in 1998, the Lake County American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations named Mollie Lieber West Person of the Year.

After separating from James West in 1966 and obtaining a divorce in 1969, West continued her activism while raising her son as a single mother. Taking temporary work as a proofreader, West pursued night school training at the Washburne Trade School in the printing trade, where women were very rare.

In 1966, West began studying at Mundelein College in the Weekend College to earn a Bachelor's degree in labor education, and when she graduated two years later, she suggested that Mundelein College invite civil rights movement and labor activist Addie L. Wyatt to give the commencement address, and West was given the role of introducing her.

In 1948, Mollie Lieber married James West, a fellow Communist organizer, and in 1951 they adopted their son, Stephen. However, due to government attention surrounding their Communist activities, James West went "underground," moving constantly, and in 1952 Mollie and her son did the same, changing Chicago-area residences at least 20 times. The FBI maintained a profile and surveillance of Mollie West and attempted to contact her on at least one occasion. In 1962, she renounced her Communist Party membership, stating that "while she believed in their principals, it was not her life."

West became active in Chicago politics in the 48th Ward, "supporting and befriending women politicians, including Alderman Mary Ann Smith and Illinois State Senator Carol Ronen."

Joining the Communist Party USA in 1935 as a labor organizer for the Young Communist League USA, West later became the secretary for the Illinois Communist Party. She married her first husband, Carl Lieber, a journalist and fellow Communist sympathizer on June 30, 1940. In 1943, as his friends were volunteering to serve in World War II, Carl Lieber volunteered for the United States Army and was sent to Europe. In his absence, Mollie, who was pregnant with their child, lost the pregnancy in a stillbirth and nearly died, and was saved by friends who "crowded the hospital to donate blood for her." Carl only read the news two weeks later in a letter from a friend. In January of 1945, Carl was killed in a car crash near Nice. To stay busy, West "served as an American Delegate to the World Youth Congress held in London and the World Student Congress in Czechoslovakia." While in Europe, she traveled to various other conventions and visited her husband's grave, possibly becoming the first American widow of World War II to do so.

After high school, West worked for the Farm Equipment Workers of America, where she "ran the office, wrote and distributed printed materials, and advocated community members to support strikes- at any cost." West was present at the Memorial Day massacre of 1937 and not only led the singing but spoke out against police brutality after the violence had occurred.

From 1935–1962 she was a member of the Communist Party USA and from 1953 to 1955 lived in hiding and was under FBI surveillance. Later, after renouncing her Communist Party membership, she became active again in trade unions, served as a delegate to several national union organizations, and co-founded the Chicago chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women. Later in life, she was recognized by multiple organizations for her contributions to labor history.

Early experience organizing strikes led West to a life of labor activism. Teachers in Chicago had been paid so infrequently from 1931 to 1933 that they and students held strikes against the pay cuts and school funding cuts, which led to the creation of the Chicago Teachers Union in 1937. West supported her teachers and was inspired by them. In 1934, when her high school proposed cuts to the music department, including the orchestra where she played French horn, Mollie West organized a strike. The night before the strike, she and several classmates were arrested while preparing their banners. She identified this as "the radicalizing moment in her life."

Mollie Lieber West (born Malka Shieman) was born in Sokolow, Poland. Due to complications at her birth, West walked with a painful limp throughout her life. Her parents, Harry Sheiman and Minka Sheiman, also had a son, Louis, and the family emigrated to the United States in 1929. She adopted an English name, Mollie, and due to her lack of English she was put into the first grade. However, she caught up quickly and began high school in 1931.

Mollie Lieber West (January 2, 1916 – August 7, 2015) was a labor activist and leader. Born in Sokolow, Poland, she emigrated with her parents to the United States at the age of 13 and settled in Chicago, where she faced challenges adapting due to the language barrier and a physical disability. After organizing a strike against Depression-era cuts to the arts at her high school, West graduated and became involved in labor organizing.