Working Conditions in the District of Columbia. Transcript of a speech given by the Honorable Virginia E. Jenckes as printed in the Congressional Record

Washinington, DC, 1937. Unbound. Very good. One-page handbill (approximately 9" x 11.5") formatted to appear like a page from the Congressional Record. Storage folds, some beginning to split at the margin. Clean with some light toning. This handbill provides the text of Jenckes's speech in the House of Representatives on 6 December 1937 advocating for a Union Shop to be imposed upon the Woodward & Lothrop Department Store in Washington, DC in lieu of the long-established Company Union that represented its workers. In the speech, she additionally complained that Painter's Union No. 368, who wished to represent the workers, was unable to get newspaper coverage because Woodies was one of the largest advertising buyers in the District.

Jenckes was the first female from Indiana to serve in the U.S. House of Representative. She was elected to the position in 1933 and held the position until she was defeated for re-election in 1938. The National Women's History Museum notes that "A Democrat, her reputation among farmers led to her victory in the landslide election of 1932. . . . Her election, however was truly extraordinary: because of re-districting, she had to defeat incumbents in both the Democratic primary and the general election. With her daughter driving the car, she traveled the rural Sixth District and rallied farm families to her side." After she was defeated in 1938, Jenckes continued to live in Washington, DC and worked for the American Red Cross.

Her efforts, however, on behalf of Painter's Union No. 368 were to no avail. Woodies employees remained content with their Company Union for the next 37 years until finally opting to join Retail Store Employees Union Local 400 in 1970.