From collection Kosti Ruohomaa Collection
ARMA Plant Workers 29
In this image a machinist concentrates as he works on a newly produced steel canister. He wears a badge on his apron. Behind him others are at work doing something similar. A man in a suit, presumably a supervisor, stands over one of the men. The setting is a factory outftted with modern lighting and work spaces.
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.
