05/01/2026
May 1st is International Workers Day🌟
Celebrated around the world, May Day is a day of reflection and action that commemorates the dedication and dignity of workers and the history of labor organizing. These photos from the Clarence W. Sorensen and Harrison Foreman collections capture the diversity and complexity of 20th-century international industry, and we hope they compel you to consider and reflect upon the historic and continued resilience, dignity, and collective power of workers around the world.
Photo 1: Woman testing lightbulb in factory, Istanbul, Turkey, between 1937 and 1959, from the Clarence W. Sorensen Collection.
Photo 2: Worker operating loom at textile factory in Kaduna, Nigeria, 1961, from the Harrison Forman Collection.
Photo 3: Worker making porcelain object at factory in Beijing, China, 1973, from the Harrison Forman Collection.
Photo 4: Worker harvesting grapes at vineyard in Kern county, California, United States, between 1934 and 1969, from the Clarence W. Sorensen Collection.
Photo 5: Workers making ponchos at Barranquilla factory, Colombia, 1969, from the Harrison Forman Collection.
Photo 6: Portrait of mine worker in Aberdare, Wales, between 1937 and 1969, from the Clarence W. Sorensen Collection.
Photo 7: Workers operating machinery at textile mill in Bacau, Romania, from the Harrison Forman Collection.
Photo 8: Workers at factory yard in Nossa Senhora da Aparecida, Brazil, between 1934 and 1969, from the Clarence W. Sorensen Collection.
Photo 9: Workers at jute factory in Haōra, India, from the Harrison Forman Collection.
Photo 10: Worker on assembly line in electronics factory in Osaka, Japan, between 1934 and 1969, from the Clarence W. Sorensen Collection.
