Unskilled labor!

This post provides additional visual evidence from a time when America needed to quickly ramp up a big high-tech workforce. We turned to a largely unskilled group of citizens to fill the need. The prior post has related commentary.

Prior post presented images taken in Nashville. This post has two from Nashville and photos taken in six other cities.

Welcome to America, 1942-1943

Click any image to see it full size

Vultee Aircraft - Nashville, Tn. - 1942

 A.C. Gilbert Company, New Haven, Ct. - Feb 1942

"Stephanie Cewe's skill with this electric screwdriver has been turned to the aid of Uncle Sam's war machine. Stephanie used to assemble toy locomotives; today, she uses the same screwdriver to assemble parachute flare casings." Photo by Howard Hollem, Office of War Information.

 Douglas Aircraft, Long Beach, Ca. - Oct 1942

"Women are trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training methods." Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information.

Click any image to see it full size

Corpus Christi, Texas. - Aug 1942

"Mrs. Eloise J. Ellis, senior supervisor in the Assembly and Repairs Department of the Naval Air Base, talking with one of the men." Howard Hollem.

Douglas Aircraft, Long Beach, California - Oct 1942.

"Women are trained to do precise and vital engine installation detail in Douglas Aircraft Co. plants." Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.

 Heil & Co., Milwaukee, Wis. Feb 1943

"Agnes Cliemka, age 23, husband may be going into the service any day. Agnes used to work in a department store. Checking fuel hose on gasoline trailer before it is turned over to the Air Force." Howard Hollem.

Chain Belt Company, Milwaukee, Wis. - Feb 1943

"Mrs. Mary Betchner measuring 105mm howitzers at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, plant of the Chain Belt Company. Her son is in the Army; her husband and daughter are in war work." Howard Hollem for the Office of War Information.

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 North American Aviation, Inglewood, Ca -1942

Riveting team working on the cockpit shell of a C-47 heavy transport at North American Aviation. "The versatile C-47 performs many important tasks for the Army. It ferries men and cargo across the oceans and mountains, tows gliders and brings paratroopers and their equipment to scenes of action." Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. 

Douglas Aircraft, Long Beach, Ca. - Oct 1942

"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." Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.

 Consolidated Aircraft, Fort Worth, Tx - Oct 1942

Riveter at work on a bomber. Howard Hollem.

Consolidated Aircraft, Fort Worth, Tx.- Oct 1942

Lathe operator machining parts for transport planes. Howard Hollem, Office of War Information.

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Vultee Aircraft, Nashville, Tn. - Feb 1943

Readying a "Vengeance" dive bomber for landing gear installation. Alfred Palmer. 

 Douglas Aircraft, Long Beach, Ca. - Oct 1942 

Engine installers. Alfred Palmer.

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Images without captions: Library of Congress
Images with captions: Shorpy
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Unskilled labor?

The immigration debate shouldn't even be a discussion. This is America, immigration is what we do. TheRaven previously explained immigration as both a moral cause and a saving grace with a look at the  unpleasant demographic alternative called "Europe". This post looks at anti-immigrant hysteria from a different angle.

There's a persistent myth that immigrants can't be trained for new vocations. The Right assumes that adults from low-tech environments lack the background necessary to acquire high-tech skills. Such assumptions are proclaimed as fact and spewed at a credulous, white audience. America's history refutes this notion several times over. This post provides only one example, in only one city, with a series of images obtained from the Library of Congress.

Three generations ago, America turned to its largest pool of unskilled people to fill a massive need for high-tech manufacturing labor. Recruiting an enormous army & navy while also embarking on an unprecedented surge in military manufacturing caused social norms to be tossed aside. The vast majority of this new manufacturing army had never held a wrench, power tool or had previously seen the inside of a factory, let alone operate hydraulic presses or master difficult skills such as welding. Most women who manned our factories during WW2 had zero prior experience with any manufacturing process, tool or concept because they were previously "housewives".

Welcome to Nashville, 1942.

Vultee Aircraft (California) bought Stinson Aircraft Corp. in 1940. Vultee paid $2.3 million for Stinson and got a recently completed, $2 million factory in the deal. A Time magazine report on the transaction noted Tennessee's "plentiful labor" and speculated that Vultee might expand the Stinson workforce ten-times over, to 7,000 employees. Time didn't mention that such expansion would depend heavily on a female work force.

These photos were taken for the Army in August 1942 and February 1943. While these photos appear to be staged, the women were genuine workers.

Click any image in post to view full size

Click any image in post to view full size

Click any image in post to view full size

The wartime economy caused the US female manufacturing workforce to roughly quadruple in just a few years. The Arsenal of Democracy legacy was built in large part by "a bunch of housewives", some of whom began their wartime employment with fewer job skills than less educated immigrants possess today.

Vultee went through several changes in ownership and was acquired by Vought in 2003. The original Vultee plant has grown to 2.1 million square feet. Aircraft components have been produced for over 70 years at 1431 Vultee Boulevard, Nashville, Tennessee. The legacy of a quickly-skilled workforce that made a big contribution lives on in Nashville, but not in the hearts or minds of Right-wing demagogues.

All photos: Library of Congress