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History (4,982 posts)

History of the Women’s Bureau

dol

The Women’s Bureau was established in the Department of Labor by Public Law No. 259 of June 5, 1920. The law gave the Bureau the duty to “formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment.”

Survival on the streets for homeless kids

cbc digital archivesCBC Archives

CBC reporter Molly Hughes talks to “Judith,” a Saint John teen whose parents made her leave home. Homeless for two months, she endured physical abuse and heartbreak in her time on the streets. Now back with her parents, Judith sits down in this 1979 clip to talk about the dangers, the friendships and surviving life when you’re homeless.

Welcome to Vancouver’s Skid Row

vanskidrowCBC Archives

This documentary, produced by Allan King, examines the life of the alcoholic derelict on Vancouver’s “skid row”. In this segment, Jimmy, who lives by the harbour, talks about his life over the years and how he has survived living on the streets. His answers reflect the hopelessness he feels about his day-to-day existence, often panhandling and spending the money on alcohol.

WPA workers protest relief cuts. Washington, D.C.

25581rLibrary of Congress

WPA workers from 26 states, head by David Lasser, President of the Workers Alliance, today protested to Assistant Administrator Aubrey Williams the recent cuts in relief. Their kicks were against the current wage scales, geographical wage differentials, inadequate number of WPA enrollees and the ‘unjust and unfair’ labor relations setup. Lasser is on the right and Aubrey Williams in center seated, 12/15/38

Bread and Roses Strike of 1912: Two Months in Lawrence, Massachusetts, that Changed Labor History

e7ca8ae118ef190d4e15bafb22a99844Lawrence History Center, Lawrence, Massachusetts, and University of Massachusetts Lowell History Department and students

Standoff between militia and strikers, Lawrence, Mass. 1912. Prompted by a wage cut, the walkout spread quickly from mill to mill across the city. Strikers defied the assumptions of conservative trade unions within the American Federation of Labor that immigrant, largely female and ethnically diverse workers could not be organized. The Lawrence strike is referred to as the “Bread and Roses” strike and “The Strike for Three Loaves.”