Industry and Labor Unions

Ann Rosener, photographer. *Women in industry. Tool production. Sharp eyes and agile fingers make these young women ideal machine operators.* They're conditioning and reshaping milling cutters in a huge Midwest drill and tool company. Republic Drill and Tool Company, Chicago, Illinois. 1942. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Women have always worked. Trade and industry journals, especially in the fashion and clothing industries, yield frequent glimpses of women within what is traditionally considered a male-dominated realm. For recent titles, consult the National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States and Canada and Labor Unions.

Search Strategies

It is crucial to consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings for the names of goods and industries as they have changed over time. Search for either the name of the industry or the item produced. Say I wanted to find information on women workers in the textile industry, I might try the following search strategies:

Browse by format

If you are looking for a source with a specific format, it helps to search with specific Subject Headings. For example, since periodicals were a popular format of both industry and labor organizers, I could try to search specifically for items on my subject published in periodical format.

A search formula for searching by format is: [Name of industry or item]—Format.
For example, Textile industry--Periodicals.
A search formula for searching by format AND location: [Name of industry or item]—Location--Format.
For example, Textile industry--Japan--Periodicals.

Browse by industry

Since the textile industry is a general term encompassing many types of textiles, it will help to find narrower search terms for the textile industry. For example, in addition to searching Textile Industry I may wish to search more specifically:

Browse by industry and publication format

Browse narrower terms

For additional resources on the workers themselves, including labor organizing, try these narrower terms:

Corset and brassiere magazine
Call Number: TT677 .C6
Published monthly.
Justice: official organ of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union
Call Number: HD6350.C6
Merged with: Labor unity (U.S. edition), to become: Unite! (New York, N.Y.).
Vol. 1, no. 1 (Jan. 18, 1919)-
Ceased with v. 77, no. 4 (June 1995).
Knitting industry weekly
Call Number: TT679 .K65
Former titles: Knit goods weekly trade record Apr. 28, 1923-; Knit goods weekly -Aug. 30, 1948; Hosiery industry weekly Sept. 6, 1948-
Machinists monthly journal
Call Number: HD6350.M2 M3
Electronic copy available from HathiTrust http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008616525
Included a two-page “Woman's Sphere” (with title change, 1898-1956, HD6350.M2 M3), and reports from the women's auxiliary appeared in the National Rural Letter Carrier (1927-, HD6350.P77 N3).
Hats
Call Number: TT650 .H3
Published for those involved in making and selling women's hats. Offers fascinating details about women in the hat business and about the workings of the fashion industry at the beginning of the twentieth century. From skimming lists of hat stores that were recently opened, sold, or in financial difficulties, and from the pages on trade representatives who sailed to Europe to gather the latest European styles, it is possible to get a sense of how many women worked in this trade and ran their own businesses.
Sportswear review; the knitwear and sports apparel trade journal
Call Number: TT679 .S8
Former titles: Sweater news; Knitted outerwear age.

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