A 1945 Chicago Tribune story referred to these women as "barmaids-for-the-duration." They were hired with the understanding that they would resign as soon as the men came home. That year, the local bartenders union admitted 123 women into their organization. They worked under Union rules and earned the Chicago minimum wage of $45 weekly.
It turned out that the women performed their jobs just as well as men.
After the war ended, most lost their jobs, but about 30 were still working. The Chicago bartenders union set April 30, 1946, as the deadline for tavern owners to fire the females. Only, they did make exceptions if the woman owned the bar or was married to the owner.
Those union rules stayed on the books until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Stuff I Didn't Know. --GreGen
My Cooter's History Blog has become about 80% World War II anyway, so I figured to start a blog specific to it, especially since we're commemorating its 70th anniversary and we are quickly losing this "Greatest Generation." The quote is taken from Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Curre, who was on the USS Tennessee that day. He died Dec. 7, 2011, seventy years to the day. His photo is below at right.
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