Women at the Center
TUNA CANNING BEGAN
on Terminal Island, in the Los Angeles Harbor in 1903. By mid-century in the most up-to-date
plants, it was a fast-paced mechanized process from fishing boat
to warehouse.
AT THE CENTER OF THE PROCESS WAS A REALM OF WOMEN -
from varying cultures, ages, and walks of life. Canneries employed
hundreds of women on each shift for cleaning, filleting, inspecting and
packing fish destined for army rations, grocery stores, and for the new post-World War
II phenomenon: supermarket shelves.
WOMEN PROVIDED THE INTENSE LABOR required to break down the fish in order to
create the product. The before and after stages of fishing, butchering, pressure-cooking, packing and storage
were areas of the process done primarily by men.
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| At French Sardine Company, c. 1930. Women from Japanese, Italian, Croatian, Mexican and American cultural backgrounds work side-by-side at the cannery tables. ~ San Pedro Bay Historical Society |
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