työmies

Työmies, meaning The Worker in Finnish, was a Finnish-language newspaper published in North America that served the Finnish labor movement in Canada and the United States during the 20th century. It emerged in the early era of the North American Finn­ish immigrant press, providing news, opinion, and cultural content to Finnish-speaking workers.

Published by organizations aligned with the Finnish labor movement, Työmies acted as a voice on labor issues, strikes, immigration, and social reform. It carried local union news, international reports, political editorials, and a mix of literary and cultural material, including poetry and notices for mutual aid societies and community events.

Editions circulated among Finnish communities in Canada and the United States, with a notable presence in Manitoba and Ontario in Canada and across the Upper Midwest, including Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Its readership comprised first- and second-generation Finns, labor activists, farmers, and workers who used Finnish in everyday life.

In the postwar period, changing demographics and media environments led to a decline of Finnish-language newspapers, and Työmies eventually ceased publication or merged with other titles. The publication is nonetheless regarded as a key source for studying immigrant labor history, Finnish-American and Finnish-Canadian culture, and the transnational socialist movement. Its surviving issues are preserved in archives and libraries, where researchers examine its role in community life and political organizing.