From collection Kosti Ruohomaa Collection
ARMA Plant Workers 15
In this image four men are pictures working at different stations in a factory. Bent-arm utilitarian lamps illuminate each station. All the workers focus on some stage of work with the high-precision cylindrical steel components in front of them.
In 1945 Ruohomaa took on a Time/Life assignment to capture life inside one of the home front factories: this one an ARMA Plant which produced electrical appliances for the U. S. military. Scenes include higher and lower skilled workers performing hand as well as machine tasks. The images reflect the modern machinery of the retooled plants as well as the new demographic of the wartime labor force: women, African Americans, and older people.
