In Oregon and the Pacific Northwest women have played a significant role in the labor movement. However their significant role has often been overlooked in this important part of American history. The Oregon Historical Quarterly's recent article "Breadwinning, Equity, and Solidarity: Labor Feminism in Oregon, 1945–1970" fills in some of this gap.
The 1970 - 1971 AFL-CIO Oregon Executive Board including it's only female member Nellie Fox-Edwards.
Credit: OHS Research Library, MSS 2768, box 2 (via https://www.ohs.org/blog/can-she-run-a-boiler.cfm).
The article sheds light on women who advanced the cause of workers and women in Oregon and the county. Labor organizers like Gertrude Sweet who fought for the rights of workers and for recognition of women within the pacific northwest labor movement. The article's author, Dr. Laura Mercier of Washington State University, deftly describes these women's contributions in the context of mid-century Oregon.
We have the journal available to read or check out at the State of Oregon Law Library. Online, you can purchase or subscribe to the Oregon Historical Quarterly from their web page. The Multnomah County Library also provides access to the article through its JSTOR subscription.