WPA scrubbing

Above: "Woman Scrubbing," a painting by Elizabeth Terrell (1908-1993), created while she was in the WPA's art program, ca. 1935-1942. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Sheldon Museum of Art.

Above: "Scrub Woman," a ceramic sculpture by Gustave Hildebrand (1897-1950), created while he was in the WPA's art program, ca. 1935-1942. A description for this artwork states, "By recognizing and honoring her hard work, [Hildebrand] pays tribute to all working women. Hildebrand’s work coincides with President Franklin Roosevelt passing the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, a move that placed protective limits on hours and wages." Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and Carol M. Highsmith.

Above: Another piece titled "Scrub Woman," this one a lithograph by Isaac Soyer (1897-1981), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, ca. 1935. Do you ever wonder why housekeeping and domestic work pays so little? It's very hard work and it keeps us clean, which is important for disease prevention and good hygiene. Are these not valued things? It seems to me that these types of workers deserve very good wages and/or a much more generous earned income credit. Of course, the latter might require that super-wealthy Americans pay higher taxes, and many people (especially those on the political right) don't want the super-wealthy to pay higher taxes. They believe that it's better for the super-wealthy to have more money to throw on the Wall Street roulette wheel, wreck the economy, and send jobs overseas, and then pass along the ill-gotten profits to their lazy children in the form of dynastic wealth. Hmmm... call me old-fashioned, but scrubbing floors, keeping things clean, and hindering the spread of disease seems more valuable to society than that. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Sheldon Museum of Art.

Above: A woman scrubs the floor during a WPA housekeeping training program in Pittsburgh, 1936. Between 1935 and 1943, WPA housekeeping aides made 32 million visits to assist low-income Americans who were experiencing illness or emergency (Federal Works Agency, Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43, 1946, p. 69). Many housekeeping aides went on to secure private housekeeping employment after their time in the WPA. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Happy to graduate from a WPA housekeeping training course in Cleveland, Ohio, ca. 1935-1943. Many people claim, then and now, that the unemployed are lazy and don't want to work, or that so-called "low-skilled" workers don't deserve good pay and benefits. It's complete b.s. of course - just mean-spirited propaganda, used by the super-wealthy and their political, think tank, and talking head stooges to maintain America's vile caste system. Most people, like the formerly jobless Americans you see above, just want an opportunity to work and get fairly compensated for it. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.