East Moline Works. Photographic Record, 1946

This collection contains a photographic record of the administrative activities of the non-striking employees of East Moline Works, a plant operating under the International Harvester Company, during the 1946 strike period. 

The International Harvester Company (IH) was a major U.S. agricultural equipment manufacturer that operated from 1902-1984, with manufacturing plants located primarily in Chicago and the Midwest. From January 21st to April 10th, 1946, 30,000 workers at ten plants of the International Harvester Company, including plants at Rock Island, East Moline, Rock Falls, and Chicago, Illinois, went on strike over wage disputes. The strike was part of a larger post-World War II strike wave that spanned from 1945 to 1946 in which over five million American workers across various industries were involved in strikes for better pay and working hours. The workers, led by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) United Farm Equipment and Metal Workers Union, went on strike in demand for a wage increase of thirty percent and other benefits. The strike ended when IH and the union agreed to an increase in wages of 18 cents per hour.   

This collection consists of a photographic record of administrative activities of the non-striking employees of East Moline Works, operating under the International Harvester Company, during the 1946 strike period. The photographic record includes original photographs mounted onto each page. The first two pages of the record include typed text indicating the identity and location of the temporary offices established at several locations in Moline and Rock Island, Illinois. Typed text on each page identifies those in the photographs, provides a brief description of the photograph and, where applicable, the related office title such as "Doctor's Office," "Industrial Relations," "Accounting Office," and "Mechanical Engineering Office." The record also contains photographs of equipment such as motors, radiators, and gas tanks for harvester threshers. This photographic record was likely in the possession of George A. Fricke, who served as Works Auditor for the East Moline Works during the 1946 strike period.

The Library purchased this collection in 2020.