Men and women doing laundry work, 1950s.

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers conducted a campaign to organize the highly exploited laundry workers during the 1950s, and it is possible Reiss took this photograph for the union in an establishment that was successfully organized. Male and female and black and white workers did not traditionally work at the same jobs in this industry before the union's organizing efforts. Note the giant mangle for ironing sheets; today they are almost all permanent pressed.

Sam Reiss Photograph Collection, Tamiment Library, New York University.