Blue Collar Worker Collection

Welder making boilers for a ship, Combustion Engineering Co. Chattanooga, Tenn. 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Welder making boilers for a ship, Combustion Engineering Co. Chattanooga, Tenn

Two manual workers on ladders painting house exterior, (B&W)

Women are trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training... Long Beach, Calif. 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Women are trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training methods, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif

Employees at Mid-Continent Refinery, Tulsa, Okla. (1943?). Creator: John Vachon
Employees at Mid-Continent Refinery, Tulsa, Oklahoma

American mothers and sisters, like these women at the Douglas Aircraft... Long Beach, Calif
American mothers and sisters, like these women at the Douglas Aircraft Company, give important help in producing dependable planes for their men at the front, Long Beach, Calif

The careful hands of women are trained in... Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942
The careful hands of women are trained in precise aircraft engine installation duties at Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif

Crane operator at TVAs Douglas Dam, Tennessee, 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Crane operator at TVAs Douglas Dam, Tennessee

Lunchtime brings a few minutes of rest... Douglas Aircraft Companys plant, Long Beach, Calif
Lunchtime brings a few minutes of rest for these women workers of the assembly line at Douglas Aircraft Companys plant, Long Beach, Calif

Electric phosphate smelting furnace used in the making of elem... Muscle Shoals area, Alabama, 1942
Electric phosphate smelting furnace used in the making of elemental phosphorus in a TVA chemical plant in the Muscle Shoals area, Alabama

A girl riveting machine operator at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant... Long Beach, Calif
A girl riveting machine operator at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant joins sections of wing ribs to reinforce the inner wing assemblies of B-17F heavy bombers, Long Beach, Calif

Constructing a building on the site of a new steel mill... Columbia Steel Co. Geneva, Utah, 1942
Constructing a building on the site of a new steel mill which will soon turn out steel for the war needs, Columbia Steel Co. Geneva, Utah

This girl in a glass house is putting finishing touches... Long Beach, Calif. 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
This girl in a glass house is putting finishing touches on the bombardier nose section of a B-17F navy bomber, Long Beach, Calif

Women at work on C-47 Douglas cargo transport, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942
Women at work on C-47 Douglas cargo transport, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif

Women workers install fixtures and assemblies... Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942
Women workers install fixtures and assemblies to a tail fuselage section of a B-17F bomber at the Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif

Women are trained to do precise and... Douglas Aircraft Company plants, Long Beach, Calif. 1942
Women are trained to do precise and vital engine installation detail in Douglas Aircraft Company plants, Long Beach, Calif

Woman machinist, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Woman machinist, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif

A fast, hard-hitting new A-20 (B-25)... Long Beach, Calif. plant of Douglas Aircraft Company, 1942
A fast, hard-hitting new A-20 [i.e. B-25] attack bomber is brought for a test hop to the flight line at the Long Beach, Calif. plant of Douglas Aircraft Company

An A-20 bomber being riveted by a woman... Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach, Calif
An A-20 bomber being riveted by a woman worker at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach, Calif

Woman aircraft worker, Vega Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, Calif. 1942. Creator: David Bransby
Woman aircraft worker, Vega Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, Calif. Shown checking electrical assemblies

Flexible performance of C-47 transport planes is due in part to their... Long Beach, Calif. 1942
Flexible performance of C-47 transport planes is due in part to their two 1, 200 horsepower radial engines and to their three-blade variable-pitch propellers, Long Beach, Calif

Girl worker at lunch also absorbing Calif... Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942
Girl worker at lunch also absorbing California sunshine, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif

A noontime rest for a full-fledged... Long Beach, Calif. plant of Douglas Aircraft Company, 1942
A noontime rest for a full-fledged assembly worker at the Long Beach, Calif. plant of Douglas Aircraft Company. Nacelle parts for a heavy bomber form the background

Two assembly line workers at the Long Beach, Calif. plant of Douglas Aircraft Company... 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Two assembly line workers at the Long Beach, Calif. plant of Douglas Aircraft Company enjoy a well-earned lunch period, Long Beach, Calif. Nacelle parts of a heavy bomber form the background

Women at work on bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Women at work on bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif

Woman at work on motor, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Woman at work on motor, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif

Men and women make efficient operating teams... Douglas Aircraft plant, Long Beach, Calif. 1942
Men and women make efficient operating teams on riveting and other jobs at the Douglas Aircraft plant, Long Beach, Calif. Most important of the many types of aircraft made at this plant are the B-17F

Women workers install fixtures and assem... Douglas Aircraft Company plant, Long Beach, Calif
Women workers install fixtures and assemblies to a tail fuselage section of a B-17 bomber at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant, Long Beach, Calif

Electric phosphate smelting furnace used to make element... vicinity of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 1942
Electric phosphate smelting furnace used to make elemental phosphorus in a TVA chemical plant in the vicinity of Muscle Shoals, Alabama

TVA chemical plant, where elemental phosphorus is made, vicinity of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 1942
TVA chemical plant, where elemental phosphorus is made, vicinity of Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Switch boxes on the firewalls of B-25 bombers... North American Aviation, Inglewood, Calif. 1942
Switch boxes on the firewalls of B-25 bombers are assembled by women workers at North American [Aviation, Inc.]s Inglewood, Calif. plant

Generator works at the winding of a generator stator... Wilson Dam, Sheffield vicinity, Ala. 1942
Generator works at the winding of a generator stator in a new addition to TVAs hydroelectric plant at Wilson Dam, Sheffield vicinity, Ala

Part of the cowling for one of the motors for a B-25... North American Aviation, Inglewood, CA
Part of the cowling for one of the motors for a B-25 bomber is assembled in the engine department of North American Aviation, Inc.s Inglewood, Calif. plant

In North Americans modern machine shop... North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, Calif. 1942
In North Americans modern machine shop, another aircraft part is finished on a huge turret lathe, North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, Calif

Men working on telephone lines, probably near a TVA dam hydroelectric plant, 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Men working on telephone lines, probably near a TVA dam hydroelectric plant

Truck driver at TVAs Douglas Dam, Tennessee, 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Truck driver at TVAs Douglas Dam, Tennessee

Metal parts are placed on masonite by... North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, Calif. 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Metal parts are placed on masonite by this woman employee before they slide under the multi-ton hydropress, North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, Calif

An employee in the drill-press section of North Americans huge machine... Inglewood, Calif
An employee in the drill-press section of North Americans huge machine shop runs mounting holes in a large dural casting, Inglewood, Calif

On North Americans outdoor assembly line... North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, Calif
On North Americans outdoor assembly line, a painter cleans the tail section of a P-51 fighter prior to spraying the olive-drab camouflage of the U.S. Army, North American Aviation, Inc

Sheet metal parts are numbered with this pneu... North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, CA, 1942
Sheet metal parts are numbered with this pneumatic numbering machine in North Americans sheet metal department, North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, Calif

Employees on the "Sunshine"assembly line at North Americans plant... Inglewood, Calif. 1942
Employees on the " Sunshine" assembly line at North Americans plant put the finishing touches on another B-25 bomber, Inglewood, Calif

Excavating within the log cofferdam during an early stage of construction, Douglas Dam, Tenn. 1942
Excavating within the log cofferdam during an early stage of construction, Douglas Dam, Tenn

North American B-25 bomber is prepared... North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, Calif. 1942
North American B-25 bomber is prepared for painting on the outside assembly line, North American Aviation, Inc. Inglewood, Calif

Two women workers are shown capping and inspecting tubing... Vultees Nashville... Tennessee, 1943
Two women workers are shown capping and inspecting tubing which goes into the manufacture of the " Vengeance" (A-31) dive bomber made at Vultees Nashville division, Tennessee

Drilling horizontal stabilizers... this woman worker at Vultee-Nashville... Tennessee, 1943. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Drilling horizontal stabilizers: operating a hand drill, this woman worker at Vultee-Nashville is shown working on the horizontal stabilizer for a Vultee " Vengeance" dive bomber

Capping and inspecting tubing: two women are shown... at Vultees Nashville division, Tennessee
Capping and inspecting tubing: two women are shown capping and inspecting tubing which goes into the manufacture of the " Vengeance" dive bomber made at Vultees Nashville division

Punching rivet holes in a frame member for a B-25 bomber... North American Aviation, Inc. CA, 1942
Punching rivet holes in a frame member for a B-25 bomber, the plant of North American Aviation, Inc. Calif

Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville... working on a "Vengeance"dive bomber, Tennessee, 1943
Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville, woman is working on a " Vengeance" dive bomber, Tennessee. The tool in the image might be a rivet gun

This woman worker at the Vultee-Nashville is shown making... Nashville, Tenn. 1943. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
This woman worker at the Vultee-Nashville is shown making final adjustments in the wheel well of an inner wing before the installation of the landing gear, Nashville, Tenn

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"Blue Collar Workers: The Backbone of America's Progress" In a world painted in shades of black and white, two manual workers on ladders diligently paint the exterior of a house. Their hands, roughened by years of hard work, bring color and life to the walls that shelter families and dreams. During World War II, as men were called to battlefields, women stepped up to fill their shoes. Trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training programs at Long Beach, California in 1942, these women shattered stereotypes and proved that strength knows no gender. At Mid-Continent Refinery in Tulsa, Oklahoma (1943?), employees worked tirelessly to fuel the nation's progress. With determination etched on their faces and sweat glistening on their brows, they exemplified the spirit of blue collar workers who kept industries running even during challenging times. American mothers and sisters joined forces at Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach (1942), working side by side with unwavering dedication. These women showcased not only their careful hands but also their resilience as they contributed to the war effort through aircraft production. From crane operators at TVA's Douglas Dam in Tennessee (1942) to lunchtime respite for workers at Douglas Aircraft Company's plant (Long Beach - 1942), every moment was an opportunity for blue collar workers to showcase their skills while finding solace amidst demanding tasks. In Muscle Shoals area, Alabama (1942), electric phosphate smelting furnaces hummed with energy under skilled hands. Blue collar workers transformed raw materials into elements vital for industrial growth - a testament to their indispensable role within society. The rhythmic sound of riveting machines echoed through the halls of Douglas Aircraft Company's plant in Long Beach (1942). A girl operator stood tall among her male counterparts; her expertise proving that gender is never a barrier when it comes to craftsmanship. On the site where Columbia Steel Co.