Wednesday, september 4, 2019
FEATURES
HermIstOnHeraLd.COm • A13
WOMEN WORKERS
PAY HOMAGE TO
ROSIE THE RIVETER
FOR LABOR DAY
staff photo by ben Lonergan
Employees at Marlette Homes in Hermiston dressed up as Rosie the Riveter in celebration of Labor Day and women in the workforce.
By ALEX CASTLE
STAFF WRITER
A
cultural icon birthed as propa-
ganda for the United States’ inte-
grative industrial efforts during
World War II and later popularized
as an image of American feminism,
Rosie the Riveter first appeared in a
1942 song by the same name written
by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb.
The next year, Saturday Evening
Post cover artist Norman Rockwell
drew the renowned image of Rosie
with her red polka-dotted bandanna,
determined facial expression with red
lipstick, rolled sleeve revealing her
flexed right bicep and a speech bubble
boldly proclaiming “We Can Do It!”
In honor of Labor Day on Monday
and women in the workforce around
the country, the women at Hermis-
ton’s Marlette Homes wore that image
proudly on Friday. Literally.
Organized by Kristi Brown and
Imelda Tejeda, nearly two dozen
women showed up for work at the
housing manufacturer Friday donning
the iconic red bandanna, denim jack-
ets with rolled sleeves and red lipstick.
During the lunch break, the women
stood together holding a “We Can Do
It!” sign as their coworkers laughed,
cheered and took several photos in the
cafeteria.
“I thought it was amazing
because…” Tejeda started to say as the
room cleared to return to work.
“It’s our history,” Brown said, fin-
ishing the thought as Tejeda nodded.
While Marlette’s employees have
been throwing holiday costume con-
CRYPTOQUIP
staff photo by ben Lonergan
Imelda Tejeda, left, and Kristi Brown pose for a portrait following a dress-up
competition they organized for Labor Day at Marlette Homes in Hermiston on Friday.
tests at work for years, this was the first
time one was held for Labor Day and
the first time the contest transformed
into a moment of empowerment.
Originally, the idea was to hold a
regular costume contest with a theme
of famous women in history. But as the
workers started to discuss their cos-
tume plans for Friday, it became clear
the contest would be hard to judge
because almost everyone wanted to be
Rosie the Riveter.
So it was decided that everybody
would dress up like Rosie, and Brown
and Tejeda took the initiative to make
sure it happened.
“We believe it’s important for
women to be in the workforce,” Brown
said of their motivation.
Brown purchased fabric earlier
in the week and Tejeda began turn-
ing it into bandannas. After about two
days of work, Tejeda had enough for
the women who wanted to participate
while everybody was responsible for
putting together the remainder of their
outfit.
Other than making the bandannas,
the plan went off without a hitch.
“All it took was communication,”
Tejeda said.
According to David Campana, Mar-
SUPER CROSSWORD: DOUBLE-CHEDDAR
lette’s training and hiring manager,
the manufacturer employs 215 peo-
ple between the office and production
floor, roughly 70 of whom are women.
Many of those working the floor, such
as Brown and Tejeda, participated on
Friday.
Tejeda, 34, has built cabinets while
working on and off at Marlette for the
last five years. And Brown, 52, has
spent the last six months wiring main
panels but has worked on the manufac-
turing floor for five years in total.
“We’re doing some of the same
work as the women who were doing
the men’s jobs while they went to
war,” Tejeda said.
Generations later, the idea that
Rosie the Riveter represented still res-
onates with American women who
have progressively filled a greater por-
tion of the labor force and continue to
integrate into manufacturing jobs that
had once explicitly excluded them.
According to the U.S. Department
of Labor, women’s participation in
the workforce has grown from 32.7%
in 1948 to 56.8% in 2016. But while
women’s employment in manufactur-
ing jobs rose constantly until peaking
in 1990 at 33.2%, a 2016 U.S. Census
Bureau report showed that figure has
fallen to 29% since.
For Tejada and Brown, however;
they’ve found a place where they feel
valued and respected as women in
manufacturing.
“I love working here and the way
we treat each other,” Tejada said.
“We get pats on the back when
we deserve them,” Brown added,
laughing.
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