PHILIP LAPORTE: ...on behalf of Georgia State University's Southern Labor
Archives. This is part of the Voices of Labor Oral History Project. Today's interviewees include Ms. Faye Knight, Ms. Louise Warren, and Ms. Betty Bendimire, and we are in Americus, Georgia, and Richard Ray, President of the Georgia State AF of L CIO is also present with us. My name is Philip LaPorte. I am the Director of the Labor Studies program at Georgia State University. We are going to begin our interview with Ms. Faye Knight. Faye, could you please tell us where you were born?FAYE KNIGHT: I was born right here in Sumter County in Americus, Georgia, out
in the country.LAPORTE: And your mother and father, what did they do for a living?
KNIGHT: My daddy was an overseer for a pecan orchard, and my mama was a housewife.
00:01:00LAPORTE: And were you educated in Sumter County Public Schools?
KNIGHT: I was. I graduated from Americus High School at the eleventh grade in 1947.
LAPORTE: And what was your first job? What was your first employment?
KNIGHT: I worked at S.H. Kress & Company. It was a five and ten cent store. I
was a clerk.LAPORTE: And what duties did you perform as a clerk at that store?
KNIGHT: Well, I worked behind the candy counter, the jewelry counter, and the
cosmetics, stuff like that.LAPORTE: And after you graduated from high school, what was your first job?
KNIGHT: Well, I worked at S.H. Kress & Company, and then I went to a little
grocery store -- I think it was Big Star, something like that -- worked for a very short time there.LAPORTE: All right. And then what was your next job after having worked at the
grocery store?KNIGHT: I went to Manhattan Shirt Company.
00:02:00LAPORTE: Uh huh. And was Manhattan Shirt Company located here in Americus, Georgia?
KNIGHT: Yes it was, it was.
LAPORTE: And what job did you perform at the Manhattan Shirt Company?
KNIGHT: I creased sleeve facings. That was the facing that goes on the sleeve
of a man's shirt, and at that time this was really the only place that women could go and work.LAPORTE: And Louise, let me ask you a couple questions, ma'am. Were you born
in Americus, as well?LOUISE WARREN: I was, right here in Sumter County.
LAPORTE: And were you educated in the public schools here?
WARREN: Right.
LAPORTE: And your first job, your first employment after graduating from high school?
WARREN: My first job was at Kress, also.
LAPORTE: I see.
WARREN: S.H. Kress & Company, and I did what Faye said, different counters, you
know, that we worked on, and it was interesting, and then I worked at McClesky Peanut Mills, and that was interesting, and then I went to work at Manhattan 00:03:00Shirt Company in 1943.LAPORTE: In 1943, all right, very well. And Betty, how about you? Were you
born here, as well, in Americus?BETTY BENDIMIRE: No, I was born in Adairsville, Georgia. I graduated from
Adairsville High School, and we only had eleven grades. And my first job was working three days, three -- I worked the weekend and one night at the Southern Bell telephone office while I was a senior in high school.LAPORTE: I see.
BENDIMIRE: And then after I graduated I got married and moved to Americus, and
my first job here was at S.H. Kress! (laughter) And then I worked at the hospital some, and then I went to work at Manhattan in 1950, and then I worked there for 42 years. 00:04:00LAPORTE: And so we might say that the road to the Manhattan Shirt Company is
through S.H. Kress.BENDIMIRE: It was for us! (laughter) It was for us, anyway!
LAPORTE: All right! (laughter) And so let's talk about the jobs that you
performed at the Manhattan Shirt Company. And Faye, I'll start with you. You told me about working in creasing shirt sleeves, is that correct?KNIGHT: No, just the little spacing that goes up from where the button is on
the shirt, on the men's cuff, on the cuff. (laughter) You just dropped this little piece of material down in a hot hole and mashed the pedal and it just creased it. (laughter)LAPORTE: All right, very good. And Louise, what job did you hold there at
Manhattan Shirt Company?WARREN: I run on the sleeve facings that she had creased! (laughter)
LAPORTE: A-ha!
00:05:00WARREN: That's what I did to begin with, that was my first job, run on sleeve facings.
LAPORTE: I see, uh huh.
WARREN: And then later I stitched down sleeve facings. That was two different
operations at that time. And then I serviced and went from there.LAPORTE: And Betty, how about you?
BENDIMIRE: My first job at Manhattan was packing. After the shirt was
inspected I packed, and then I did various jobs in the laundry. If anybody stayed out I had to fill in for them. I inspected, I packed, I bagged, I worked in shipping, I did a little bit of everything back in the laundry.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. And what were some of the other jobs that people held at that
Manhattan Shirt Company? Can you describe some of those for me, Faye?KNIGHT: Well, to start with they would take these big bolts of material, and
that would be the spreaders, to walk up and down these long tables, spread the 00:06:00material out, and then the markers would come and lay paper on top of that stack of material and mark the pattern of the shirt, and then the cutters would cut out all of that. And then clickers and then that would go into the different departments, the fronts where they put the button and the button holes, and I was an examiner after I quit creasing the facings! (laughter) I was an examiner of the button and the button holes on the front of the shirt. And then it would go on to different operations where they would put the pieces of material together for sewing of it, where Louise worked down in the assembly.LAPORTE: And so --
KNIGHT: Then it got to the laundry where Betty was. (laughter)
LAPORTE: So Louise, were you a sewer?
WARREN: I did sew some, yes.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm.
WARREN: I sewed sleeve facings, and then later, as I had said, I did joining
00:07:00where you join the front onto the back of the shirt, and that was, that was two operations, too. You joined it and then someone else would stitch it down on top, but later that became one operation.LAPORTE: I see.
WARREN: And then, of course, there was sleeving and felling, you know, where
they put the sleeves in and the felling and the cuff fit. And of course, there were several departments -- there were parts that they did the collars and the cuffs, they made all the parts, and then they came to the assembly and were put together, so it just was several different operations over the plant.LAPORTE: So we had cutters, sewers, spreaders --
WARREN: Right.
LAPORTE: -- pressers, and Betty, you were in the laundry.
BENDIMIRE: Yes.
LAPORTE: And what job did you perform there in the laundry?
BENDIMIRE: Well, I would pack the shirts. Back when I first went to work we
just had tissue paper we'd put in the boxes. Then we'd put the shirts in and put the lid on. We usually put four shirts to a box, and then later I did 00:08:00the inspecting of the shirt before it went into the box, and then as years came along, you know, everything got to be in a plastic bag, and so then my job part of the time was to bag the shirts to put in the boxes, and we didn't have to use the tissue paper. And then we had -- I went and worked back in shipping, getting the lots completed, make sure all the shirts was there, because you always had so many. Sometimes it'd be 3,000 in a, in a lot that you were sending out that each one had a number, and you had to make sure you got all of them together, everything before you could ship them, and that was part of my job at times. But as the shirts came into the laundry they were pressed by hand with an iron, and then they were buttoned up and pressed, and then they were put over to the next girl who folded it, and then after she folded it, it was 00:09:00inspected and went through the process of where I worked.LAPORTE: And so we went from the bolts of cloth coming in to the cutting,
spreading, cutting, sewing, creasing, pressing, folding, packing, and then these shirts were then shipped to Manhattan Shirt Company's warehouse for distribution. Is that correct?BENDIMIRE: Right.
LAPORTE: And I'm told that every single shirt that you produced was a white shirt.
WARREN: At that time.
KNIGHT: At one time. Then we went to stripes and plaids, and those plaids had
to match or they didn't go. (laughter)LAPORTE: And what was the timeframe? Louise, you said you started 1943, and
00:10:00Faye in nineteen-forty --KNIGHT: Seven or eight, or early '48.
LAPORTE: -- seven, and Betty was 1950. Do you recall the year that you went
from exclusively white shirts to stripes and plaids and other designs?KNIGHT: I don't have a clue! (laughter)
WARREN: I'm not sure of that. I don't remember, but we were only white
shirts for several years.LAPORTE: Yes, ma'am.
BENDIMIRE: I would say it was in the '50s is probably when it... Because it
seems like it wasn't too long after I went there that we started having the colored shirts, the different colors, and then we'd have what we call a design on design, and we'd have plaids and stripes and a little bit of all of it.LAPORTE: Yeah, yeah. So how many people were employed at the Manhattan Shirt
Factory? Faye? 00:11:00KNIGHT: Well, when it was the old building, which was downtown Americus, 2-300,
but then I've forgotten what year we moved out on Trip Street, and it was a bigger factory. And after we moved out there then they enlarged it a little bit more, and at one time there was at least 500 during the day, and then we had a night shift at one time, if y'all remember.BENDIMIRE: Well, we'd be moving on up in years, but in the '60s we had
1,100 employees in the '60s.KNIGHT: Yeah, OK. Well, see, I don't remember that. (laughter)
LAPORTE: And that was the high water mark? When you hired in, Faye, there were 2-300?
KNIGHT: Yeah, uh huh.
LAPORTE: And at maximum production, Louise, it was up to 1,100?
WARREN: That's when we had a day shift and a night shift.
KNIGHT: Yeah, we did.
LAPORTE: Really. And Betty, do you recall -- were they all women? Were there
men and women, 50/50, or what was the makeup of the workforce? 00:12:00BENDIMIRE: It was mostly women. The men mostly did the servicing jobs and then
worked in shipping, getting the shirts from the trailers and whatnot, and in the cutting room was mostly men, and so it was mostly women, though. The majority of the people that worked there were women.LAPORTE: Yeah. And Manhattan produced high quality dress shirts, and these
shirts would find their way into the best department stores, the best men's stores in the United States, is that right?KNIGHT: That's right. That is right.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. And so quality standards were very high, I would assume. Is
that correct?KNIGHT: Yes sir, they were. They were right when they left that factory.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And so I understand that you got hired in, and then
what was the first time that you became aware of the union at the Manhattan Shirt Company? Faye? 00:13:00KNIGHT: Well, I was aware of it before I went to work because my sister worked
there, and so I knew that the union was there, so...LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. All right.
KNIGHT: And I joined very shortly after I went to work.
LAPORTE: All right. And what was the union and what was the local union number?
KNIGHT: 226.
LAPORTE: And that is two-twenty -- Local Union 226 of the --
KNIGHT: Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union.
LAPORTE: All right. And Louise, was that lovingly referred to as ACTWU?
WARREN: It was. (laughter)
LAPORTE: Yes, ma'am! All right. Now I -- Faye said that she joined almost
right away, and when you first were employed, Louise, in 1943, did you join the union right away, as well?WARREN: I did, just a very short time after I went to work.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, all right.
WARREN: Got active in it.
KNIGHT: Well, the union was there, see, when we went to work 'cause it was,
00:14:00came in in 1941. Louise, I remembered that date. (laughter)LAPORTE: So ACTWU organized the Manhattan Shirt Plant in 1941, and so Betty,
when you were first employed in 1950 the union had been established, and you joined the union after being employed, as well.BENDIMIRE: Right.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm.
BENDIMIRE: They got to where they would give you a, so many weeks to make sure
that you could make, do the job, and after that you were given the name to, the company gave the name to the union people, and they would approach you to sign your union card, and back then everybody signed. It just -- nobody ever said no that I can remember. They just always signed up. We were 100% union.LAPORTE: Uh huh. So in 1943 and 1947 and then in 1950 you continued to be 100% union.
KNIGHT: Absolutely.
00:15:00LAPORTE: And now you have said that, that the jobs were divided into these
various job titles, and then did each individual employee have a production standard that they had to meet?KNIGHT: Yes. If they were operating a machine or examining anything you had to
make production, and you didn't stay long, and the more you turned out work the more money you made, and that's what we were all after.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. And Louise, do you remember what your weekly wage was when
you first started out in 1943?WARREN: $12 a week. That's what I was earning.
LAPORTE: $12.
WARREN: $12. (laughter)
LAPORTE: And did the union negotiate additional benefits that you received as
an employee, as a member of the union? 00:16:00WARREN: Yes. Yes, we were eligible for insurance benefits sometime in the
'40s. I'm not sure of the date of that, but we were elated that we had insurance benefits at that time, and... Well, we had a number of benefits that came on along. I was just trying to recall some of them, but seniority, you know, was one, you know. If there was a layoff, you know, then those with the least senior would be the ones who would be laid off, and a number of things like that.LAPORTE: Yeah. And Betty, did you receive a ticket for each job that you
completed on a piece of clothing or a shirt? How did that work?BENDIMIRE: All of my jobs were straight time work. I got paid by the hour.
LAPORTE: I see.
BENDIMIRE: Now, when the pressers and the folders did 'em, they got paid by
the piece, but I got paid by the hour. 00:17:00LAPORTE: So you were hourly employee, strictly hourly compensation.
BENDIMIRE: I was hired at 65 cents an hour. I got my paycheck on Thursdays in
an envelope with the taxes, told me how much taxes was taken out and all. We didn't get checks back then, they just paid us in cash money.LAPORTE: Yes, ma'am, that's right! Yes, ma'am!
BENDIMIRE: (laughter) That was great!
KNIGHT: In a little envelope.
BENDIMIRE: Uh huh.
LAPORTE: So the pay envelope was really a cash envelope, much anticipated, I understand!
BENDIMIRE: Oh, yeah! (laughter)
LAPORTE: And Faye, the positions you held included a production standard, and
were there tickets verifying?KNIGHT: Yes, yes. There was a ticket on each bundle of work, which may be five
dozen shirts or even as low as a fraction of, but there was a ticket on there and you cut your ticket off and stuck it on a sheet, and that's how we got paid. 00:18:00LAPORTE: And so now the union was there. Louise became active right away, she
told me. And one of the things that people were happy to join the union about was the fact that they would get insurance coverage, and was that hospitalization, major medical? What was that insurance, Louise?WARREN: Hospitalization, mainly, and then a life insurance benefit, life.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm.
WARREN: I think it started with $500, but it was later increased to $1,000,
which retirees now are eligible for $1,000 life benefit.LAPORTE: Uh huh, I see.
WARREN: After all these years.
LAPORTE: Uh huh. And so what, what do you think motivated people to join that
union? You described a couple of issues for me -- the benefits, then you 00:19:00described seniority. Were there other reasons why workers at that Manhattan Shirt Company were happy to join the union?WARREN: Well, I think they saw the potential that was there that we would be
getting more benefits, and, you know, that's what we were all looking for. (laughter) More money, more --KNIGHT: More paid holidays, vacation, things like that, 'cause we were trying
to negotiate at least one more paid holiday every contract negotiation, and things like that. So we were pretty well pleased, I think.LAPORTE: And Betty, what were your reasons, what attracted you to sign that
union card?BENDIMIRE: Well, my father was a union member. He worked for the railroad, and
I always knew about the union, and then later in life my oldest brother was a union member, and he worked at Lockheed in Marietta, so I was aware of the union, and then I'd heard being talked about the union there at Manhattan and 00:20:00the benefits that we got, and everybody just always talked good about it, and you just always was anxious to join.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. Faye, let me start with you in terms of your role with Local
226. You joined as a member. Your sister made you aware of the union and its benefits, and did you become an activist? Were you on the bargaining committee? What role did you first play?KNIGHT: Well, I think I started going to the union meetings, I would say, in
the first year, but I didn't hold an office -- I don't remember when I went in -- as Vice President. Isn't that right, Lou? I think I was Vice President to start with, and, of course, once you got a position and they thought you was doing all right you kept it, (laughter) couldn't give it away! But then I 00:21:00went on to be the president, as well as the political action chairman at the local.LAPORTE: OK. And Louise, what about you?
WARREN: Well, I got active in the legislative process in the '40s, you know,
really before I held an office in, you know, in the other, and then in 1956 I was elected Insurance Secretary -- and I spoke of insurance earlier -- and then I was Insurance Secretary for 15 years. And then I was Vice President, and then I was President, and then I was a chairperson, and I retired in 1988. (laughter) 'Cause what we were all working for was that retirement date, too!KNIGHT: Right!
LAPORTE: Well, if I may go back to the 1940s, you hired in 1943 and you said
you were political? 00:22:00WARREN: I was not, didn't have a title, I was just active in the legislative
process, you know, our local legislative union, you know, process. And those of us who were interested in politics at that time, we just had what we called our committee --LAPORTE: Sure.
WARREN: -- legislative committee.
LAPORTE: Well, in 1947 the United States Congress passed the Taft Hartley
Amendment to the National Labor Relations Act, allowing states to mandate union membership as a condition of employment in accordance with the federal law, or to allow the states to invoke legislation that would allow people not to belong to the union, yet provide the same level of negotiated benefits. Were you 00:23:00involved in any of those discussions, political discussions at that time?WARREN: Well, no, not really, because we didn't have that problem, you know,
as far as people not wanting to join at that time, so, you know, we just kind of attended some meetings and, you know, just -- we were just there just a part of, but we didn't have a whole lot of action at that time.LAPORTE: Would you attribute your solidarity of being 100% membership to what?
What did the union do that contributed to every employee in that facility to join the union?WARREN: Well, I guess mainly because of the benefits that we did have, and, as
Faye mentioned, the Manhattan Shirt Company was about the only place to work in Americus at that time, and so the public knew what we were doing at the plant 00:24:00and, you know, what we were getting, and they knew about the insurance and benefits that we did have, and so they didn't hesitate about joining.KNIGHT: Well, getting back to the legislative part, we were very active
politically. We had a good committee that we would screen candidates. They didn't run for office here unless they came to see us.LAPORTE: And I want to pursue that, Faye. I just want to ask about your roles
on the bargaining committee, on negotiating contracts. In 1943 when you hired in, Louise, the contract was in place, and what was the first contract that was negotiated after you were hired in?WARREN: Hmm.
00:25:00LAPORTE: Were they one year contracts, three year contracts?
WARREN: I think mostly a year at that time.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, that's right.
WARREN: And, of course, each time the contract was renewed of course they tried
to get more benefits --LAPORTE: Yes, ma'am.
WARREN: -- and more advantages for the people.
LAPORTE: And Betty, do you recall in 1950 when you hired in, what experience
did you have with the contract negotiations?BENDIMIRE: Well, I really didn't have any input into it, you know, as far as
doing the contract, but they always met with us and informed us of what we had gotten and all, 'cause my first job in the union was shop steward, and then I went from there to assistant chairperson. I was also on the legislative 00:26:00committee, and then later I was chairperson when I retired.LAPORTE: And do you recall if they were one year contracts when you began?
BENDIMIRE: I don't remember if they were just one year, but it seems like
they were when I first joined.LAPORTE: And then later, Faye, in your career did you see the contracts being
lengthened to two years and three years?KNIGHT: No, I think we still went to the one year contract, and they all
(laughter) expired on Labor Day Weekend, because we thought, "Oh gosh, we're going to have to walk the picket line." But no, I think they continued that, and... But over the years I can remember a long time the -- I was the business agent, and the like Oma Barton and our business agent, they would be the ones to really go in and negotiate the contract with the company, but then they started including some of us, too, you know, one or two of the offices to go in and have 00:27:00a little input into what they were asking for, or we felt it was necessary that we get it.WARREN: We would always have, they would always have a meeting for usually the
chairperson and the president to come in, and they would go over what they had already talked to them about getting the benefits for us, like an extra holiday or whatever, and they would -- we would meet a lot of times in Birmingham or Atlanta or somewhere for that, and all the different companies from the different plants came into that, just the president and the chairperson. They would let us know, and then we would go back and meet with our people and tell them what they had offered us.LAPORTE: Does anyone recall the different plants, the different companies that
would be part of the overall negotiation in the textile industry for the... ? 00:28:00KNIGHT: Our plant in Atlanta, and the ones (inaudible), and one in Columbus.
What was it?WARREN: I don't know about Columbus, but we had, you know, one in Leesburg
and Ashburn and Jesup.KNIGHT: Right, mm-hmm.
LAPORTE: And were they Manhattan --
KNIGHT: No.
LAPORTE: -- Arrow... ?
KNIGHT: Arrow.
LAPORTE: They were Arrow.
KNIGHT: Mainly Arrow.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And so there were would be a uniform wage negotiated
that would be for each of those plants? Is that the way it worked?KNIGHT: I don't know. I think more or less the benefits were about the same,
but as far as the pay raises I think it differed in each one of the plants, 'cause...LAPORTE: Uh huh.
WARREN: Well, now Jesup and all those were Manhattan.
KNIGHT: Yeah, they -- but what was the one in Columbus?
00:29:00WARREN: That was -- wasn't that just... ? Did they have a shirt plant?
KNIGHT: Did they?
WARREN: I was thinking that was just the towels and things --
KNIGHT: No!
WARREN: -- that they were involved in.
KNIGHT: I don't remember, but I know we met with them.
WARREN: Yeah.
KNIGHT: That was when, I guess after we merged with textile, that could be
where the textile came in.WARREN: That's where it came in, that's right, 'cause they didn't have
a shirt plant over there, it was just the towels and...KNIGHT: OK. I remember Roosevelt (inaudible).
LAPORTE: Towels and linens, perhaps?
KNIGHT: Yeah, uh huh.
LAPORTE: Yeah, yeah. And what about the level of grievances at your plant? Do
you recall whether or not the contentious issues, or you worked things out? You were shop steward, Betty, right?BENDIMIRE: Right.
KNIGHT: And Louise was chairlady at one time.
WARREN: Some of them were worked out and some of them were not worked out. We
did have several little stoppages, you know, over the years, because of differences of opinion, but our walkouts, as we say, did not last long, you 00:30:00know. It was usually worked out in just a matter of maybe two or three days or so.LAPORTE: So two or three day work stoppage, and they would miss you so much
that they would resolve a grievance?KNIGHT: (laughter) Right!
WARREN: I think that was it!
KNIGHT: Absolutely!
LAPORTE: Or should I say resolve the issue.
WARREN: Yeah. And a lot of times there wasn't a grievance there, it was just
an issue.LAPORTE: Yeah. Well, do you recall the number of grievances that might be
active at any one time over the course of the contract? Over a year would you have ten active grievances? Would you have a hundred? What's your recollection?KNIGHT: I don't know that we had that many that we couldn't work out with
the plant manager, so...WARREN: Yeah, I don't think so.
00:31:00KNIGHT: Some of it never even went into a written grievance, 'cause usually
the chairlady could get with the supervisor or whatever and work out whatever the problem was.BENDIMIRE: We would meet with the plant manager, the chairperson would, and go
over -- if we had grievance that, you know, couldn't be worked out otherwise, and then we would talk with him about it, then, you know, go back and forth, and most of the time we worked them out. At times we had to have a business agent in on 'em, and they would help with it, so just -- we never knew how many we was going to have. Sometimes we'd have five in a week or maybe one or maybe none. It just varied.LAPORTE: And Betty, in your role as a shop steward –break in audio-- your
00:32:00knowledge of the contract and the confidence that your employees had in you contributed to grievances being settled right there on the shop floor?BENDIMIRE: I think so, yes, uh huh, because you, you know, you talked with the
people and explained the contract to them, what their job consisted of and what they could do and wasn't allowed to do, and they would, you know, listen to you most of the time. Sometimes they would kind of get upset, but you just had to calm them down and settle their problem for them, with them.LAPORTE: And in order to do that I would imagine that you also had to earn the
trust and respect of the supervisors.BENDIMIRE: Oh yeah, mm-hmm.
LAPORTE: And were you known as the shop steward who knew the contract better
00:33:00than any other supervisor in the plant?BENDIMIRE: (laughter) Well, we tried to, anyway! We did more than some of the
supervisors did, 'cause a lot of times the supervisor coming didn't want to know what could be done. (laughter)LAPORTE: And Louise, as the chair were you sometimes referred to as the union lady?
WARREN: Oh yes, we were, those of us who were more active, you know. Right.
LAPORTE: And were you looked to as the chairwoman --
WARREN: Absolutely.
LAPORTE: -- by both the membership and supervision --
WARREN: Right.
LAPORTE: -- as the leading voice for the union in the plant?
WARREN: Right.
LAPORTE: And did you earn and maintain the trust and respect of the plant manager?
WARREN: Yeah, you tried to! (laughter) You tried to. You really did. You
00:34:00wanted to get along and you wanted, you know, to do what was right, but we still wanted what we could do for the people, so that's what we tried to do.LAPORTE: And Louise Warren, if it was said that Louise Warren, the union
chairlady, said this is what the contract meant, did people defer to your interpretation and opinion?WARREN: Pretty much so, they did. There might be a few times, you know, that
people might disagree with -- not really very vocal, you know. We were kind of fortunate in that way that we didn't have a whole lot of people that were fighting us, you know, so that helped.LAPORTE: And did you conduct local union meetings? Were they on a monthly
basis or... ?WARREN: We had a monthly union meeting. The first Wednesday of each month was
00:35:00our regular scheduled union meeting, and we were allowed to make the announcement in the plant, you know, that day on the PA system that we would have a union meeting this afternoon at 5:15 and all union members were urged to attend. (laughter)LAPORTE: And how many people came to those union meetings?
WARREN: Well, for a long time we had a good attendance, we really did, and as
time went on for various reasons, you know, people got busier and busier and we didn't have quite as many, but we maintained a good number of members attending the meetings all along.LAPORTE: And did you have a union meeting for each shift or one general union meeting?
WARREN: Just one.
LAPORTE: And business was discussed, and would people come to the union
meetings to get the latest updates in the plant and would negotiations and grievances? 00:36:00WARREN: Yes, because each, at each union meeting, of course, any business or
whatever, you know, would be discussed and the chairperson would, you know, discuss what she, she or he had done with the grievances that were at their level.LAPORTE: And do you recall a particular case or particular grievance that
stands out in your mind as the union chairperson?WARREN: I was trying to remember what this problem was that we had a little
walkout one time, but let me see. (laughter) I don't remember the problem! I don't remember exactly what the problem was. You know, over so many years...LAPORTE: Yes, ma'am. And so --
WARREN: I wish I did remember, but I don't.
LAPORTE: So, Louise, there were a number of issues, but mainly you got them
00:37:00resolved, and could you tell us about your meetings with the plant manager? How did they go?WARREN: Well, pretty good! Sometimes. I mean, at times this particular
manager was -- he was kind of hard to deal with at times, but then he was pretty fair, you know, as far as getting a problem settled. He would usually work with you to the best of his ability. (laughter) But anyway, we usually got it settled. Now, like this little walkout that I was referring to, it only lasted that one afternoon and we were back the next day, we had it settled, and I'm sorry I don't remember.LAPORTE: So you had how many, 500 women, 600 women who were outside the plant,
and they let their feelings be known and demonstrated that they weren't happy with the situation?WARREN: It was quite a few that walked out.
LAPORTE: Yeah.
00:38:00WARREN: I won't say the number, but it was quite a few. I don't remember
exactly how many it was, but anyway, we always went to the union hall for our little get-togethers, which was right down on the corner. (laughter) Yeah, just a little ways -- we could walk from the plant to the union hall at that time.LAPORTE: Uh huh. And so that resolved the issue, that brought sufficient
attention to the issue to get it resolved?WARREN: Got it resolved, got back to work the next day.
LAPORTE: Uh huh, wonderful. Faye, did you have any observations about the
union's dealings with the plant manager on behalf of the chairlady?KNIGHT: Well, they always handled the situations as well as they could, because
over the years we had quite a few different plant managers and they were all entirely different from each other, (laughter) but whoever was the chairperson at that time, usually we had to deal with them. I did get in on a few of those 00:39:00things, but Louise or Betty or whoever happened to be the chairperson at that time usually handled any situation.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Well, you know, that says a great deal about your
leadership abilities, your skills, and so to lead a group of workers, and in your role in South Georgia as women who were dealing primarily with supervision that were men. Could you tell us a little bit about that dynamic, and what were some of the, you know, things that you were able to utilize, your skills, your abilities in which to demonstrate your leadership and how effective it was? Faye, I'll start with you. 00:40:00KNIGHT: Gosh! (laughter) I don't understand exactly what you mean now, Philip.
LAPORTE: Well --
KNIGHT: Don't repeat all of it, just give me the main thing! (laughter)
LAPORTE: In the 1950s in South Georgia, for a woman to assume a position of
leadership, to advocate on behalf of workers, and to go and negotiate with a male plant manager, did you use the contract? Did you use your verbal skills? Did you assert human rights? How did you do it? How did you get it done?KNIGHT: All of the above! (laughter) No, I think you had to be pretty well
acquainted with your contract, what was in the contract, and you needed to know exactly what the problem was and just express your own feelings as to how this should be settled. But now as far as being a union leader in the south, 00:41:00Americus did not accept us that well. Americus was not very happy with unions. But no, we could -- we just done our thing. (laughter)WARREN: And we had little policies also, you know, in addition to our contract,
you know, pertaining to certain issues and things, and we really expected the manager to go along with that, and usually they did, so that was another way of kind of getting grievances settled was just a little policy that we had pertaining to certain things.LAPORTE: And was this a union policy, Louise?
WARREN: Yeah, it was. It was union policy. It was, I think, the company and
our union officials, you know, kind of got together with -- and it just kind of -- and, as I said, in addition to the policy. I mean the contract. 00:42:00LAPORTE: So you would be able to refer to the policy and then hold the plant
manager or supervision to the specific provisions in the policies.WARREN: Right, and that worked most of the time, most of the time.
LAPORTE: Uh huh. And Betty, did you find on the shop floor, the departments
that you worked in, those policies to be effective?BENDIMIRE: Yes, I did. They always -- if we had a policy in, then when it was
something come up then it was followed by union and by company.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. And Faye, you mentioned that in the community, in the broader
community that the union was not well accepted. Could you tell us some examples of the resistance to the presence of unions in Americus, in Sumter County, in South Georgia?KNIGHT: Well, at one particular time there was an article that came out in our
00:43:00local Times Recorder that Americus did not need unions, this was nowhere for a union, so that kind of set me off. So I wrote an article back and told them that there is a place for unions in Americus, that we are your letter carriers from the Post Office, we're your electricians, we're your clothing workers, we're your telephone operators, and we sing in your choir and you take our money when we come in and you don't mind that it's union, so... But Americus is still kind of against unions.LAPORTE: Well, how was your article received when it was published in the newspaper?
KNIGHT: It was all right. Most of them agreed with me because (laughter) they
were acknowledged that they are unions when people don't realize who you're dealing with every day. 00:44:00LAPORTE: So the examples you used were readily understandable, practical.
KNIGHT: Absolutely.
LAPORTE: Louise?
WARREN: Yes, I wanted to just add something to that. As we mentioned, you
know, we were active in the legislative process. Well, one year -- and I do not remember the year, but -- you know, we had two or three we called them trailer plants in the area that were making trailers, and there was a bill in the House, Georgia House that they needed passed that these trailers could go --KNIGHT: 14 foot wide.
WARREN: -- 14 foot wide on the highway, you know, and so the Chamber of
Commerce manager, whatever his title is, came back to the plant, and he wanted to meet with us. He wanted our support. In fact, they wanted us to go to Atlanta the next day, and several of us went to Atlanta the next day to meet with our politicians, our elected officials, I should say, on the bill, and we got the bill passed. (laughter)KNIGHT: Right.
WARREN: So we credited ourselves with part of that, anyway! So it felt
00:45:00responsible that we were able to do that.LAPORTE: And the interest on behalf of organized labor was that it was going to
generate more jobs in this community?WARREN: Yeah, yeah, because of the building of the mobile homes or whatever
they were referred to as, and because they could travel to wherever they needed to go.LAPORTE: So if it is in the mutual interest of the union and companies to
increase economic activity and create jobs, that has been your experience you've been able to work together with business and elected officials to create more economic activity and more jobs in this community. Is that a fair assessment?WARREN: Right.
LAPORTE: Well, let's talk more about the community's view of organized
00:46:00labor. When Faye explains it to the practical implications, money, they seem to agree.KNIGHT: Mm-hmm, sure.
LAPORTE: Were there other instances where the community didn't agree?
KNIGHT: Well, I remember when the imports started, first started coming in. I
was asked to check out the local stores to see if they had any in their shops. Well, there was one or two, you know, that did have them and they agreed to pull them down, and I explained to them why. Well, I (laughter) went to one of the stores, and oh man, they just had a lot of ladies' clothes that had been shipped in from overseas, and I asked the manager if he would take them off of the racks and he wouldn't agree, so I called our business agent and told her. 00:47:00She says, "Well, you need to put up an informational picket line." I thought, "Oh, Lord!" (laughter) Anyway, I got me some people together. I don't think this one time -- Louise usually goes with me wherever but she didn't join me that day.WARREN: I think I was out at that time.
KNIGHT: You must have been.
WARREN: I was.
KNIGHT: Well, there was about six of us that I got together, and we picked the
local Belk's store, and we were outside, and the manager saw us out there and he came out and he says, "I'm going to call the police." So I said, "Y'all, we're fixin' to go to jail!" (laughter) Anyway, the police came, and I told him that it was only an informational picket, that we were not asking people not to shop there, and he says, "Well, y'all don't stay much longer and leave." So that's what we did, but we did get our point across, 00:48:00see. But that was the only store I had to picket. The others were good enough to take the clothes off of their shelf.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
WARREN: But then we had a parade, you know, downtown one day, too, you know,
supporting the "Buy American"...KNIGHT: Yeah, we did.
WARREN: And we had a good -- I think just about every union member came out to that.
KNIGHT: We did.
BENDIMIRE: And as new businesses came into Americus, they would try to find out
what the union offered here so that they could do a little bit better and not have the union, 'cause they really didn't -- the other, like Davidson's Rubber Company, they did not want a union. My son worked there for a time, and they told them that if they talked about the union in any way and they were, they knew about it, they would be fired. So the other companies that came in 00:49:00did not want the unions in here.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Then they told him that, Betty, in spite of the fact
that it is against the law to threaten to fire someone for expressing their legally protected right to organize and join a union.BENDIMIRE: And see they knew that I was a big union worker in our union, and
they really watched him close. They really did.LAPORTE: Yeah, yeah. Well, let's, let's talk a little bit about the
political activities. Faye, I understand that you were the chair of the legislative committee for Local 226. Can you tell me what your duties were in that role?KNIGHT: Well, I mean, you know, it varied because, like Louise said, we went to
Atlanta. We lobbied. At that time we could just go in and talk to someone. 00:50:00It's not like it is now. But anyway, during that time I realized that we worked people from about eight different counties in that one factory, so I got to thinking about it, and I asked someone that I thought that the people from that county would follow and asked them to serve on the committee -- and Louise and Betty was on it, too, but these people were from the different counties that worked out there, and I felt like, well, they could control (laughter) how they voted, you know, since it was from their own county, which it did, it worked out really well. But I didn't really get, intend to get into all of it that I did, but I worked several different governors' races as well as presidential 00:51:00campaigns, and most of the time Louise and Betty was with me. Sometimes we didn't agree on the candidates, but that was just, (laughter) you know, I did my thing!LAPORTE: Well, all right, let's, let's talk about those governors' races.
Do you remember the first race that you got involved in as chair of the legislative committee?KNIGHT: Herman, Herman Talmadge probably. I sat on his platform. We ate his
barbecue and then I think we voted for somebody else! (laughter) We did!WARREN: He always came to town, had a barbecue.
KNIGHT: That's right! (laughter)
BENDIMIRE: That was Thompson, though, wasn't it?
KNIGHT: No, that was Talmadge.
WARREN: Talmadge.
KNIGHT: (laughter) And then I was very active in Carl Sanders' campaign. And
who else came in there? Of course Jimmy Carter.WARREN: Jimmy Carter.
KNIGHT: And... See, I introduced Jimmy Carter to his first union political
00:52:00meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. He was our Senator at that time, and he had asked me if I could get him into that meeting. At that time he was playing with the idea of running for Congress or Governor or what, you know. So I believe President Montague was our State President at that, during that time, and -- but I got Jimmy in for that meeting, and he was as scared as I was! (laughter) We've gone a long ways together since then. But Louise and Betty have really been good supporters of, you know, whoever we thought -- like I said, if they were going to run for the Senate, Senate seat or the Representative seat, they called to come to see us if they could come to our union meetings.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. So you had 1,100 people --
KNIGHT: Right.
LAPORTE: -- at that plant at one time, and so if someone was running for
00:53:00elected office in Sumter County and they could go and depend on the support of 1,100 people they would want to do so.KNIGHT: Absolutely, they did, and it didn't embarrass them a bit. It was
when you got out in public they didn't know you too well! (laughter)LAPORTE: So they wanted your support, they wanted your money, they wanted your
volunteers, but they didn't want to be seen in public with you.KNIGHT: Well, I'll have to say Jimmy Carter was pretty good. He even -- we
were going to something in Atlanta, and he came to my house and picked me up to take me with him, so, I mean, I knew Jimmy before he was anything.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And of course Governor Carter was elected
there, and then did you continue after his term of office and with the governors following him? 00:54:00KNIGHT: Let's see, who, who came after Jimmy? I can't even think...
LAPORTE: We had George Busbee.
KNIGHT: Yeah, well I -- you know, I usually get active in whatever's going
on. I'm not as active now as I was several years ago, (laughter) but I do get into the presidential elections. But it's been an interesting thing to get into.LAPORTE: Sure.
KNIGHT: In fact, we have been to Washington, D.C., and at one time Louise and I
got into the living quarters, and then at one time Betty and I got into the Oval Office! (laughter)BENDIMIRE: Yeah! I hadn't thought to remember that! (laughter)
LAPORTE: So what did you find more exciting, the Oval Office or the living quarters?
KNIGHT: Well, they were both... ! You know, entirely different, so --
LAPORTE: And was this while President Carter was in office?
00:55:00KNIGHT: Yeah, mm-hmm. Oh, yeah.
BENDIMIRE: In fact, we went to New Hampshire, campaigned for Jimmy Carter.
KNIGHT: Uh huh, they put me out somewhere and forgot where they put me. They
said they forgot! (laughter)BENDIMIRE: And I'm guilty of doing that! (laughter)
LAPORTE: So all three of you were members of the Peanut Brigade?
WARREN: Right.
KNIGHT: Yeah, mm-hmm.
BENDIMIRE: I'll tell you, this little experience about going to New
Hampshire. Well, we flew from Atlanta and we landed in Worcester, Massachusetts --LAPORTE: Yes.
BENDIMIRE: -- and, of course, it was bad weather. They had to de-ice our
plane, you know, before we could go on from there. Well, when we got to Concord -- they called it Concord and we called it Con-cord (laughter) -- but anyway, we could -- our landing gear wouldn't come down on the plane, so we had to circle the airport, you know, a number of times, but we could see the fire trucks and the ambulances and all, you know, with the lights flashing, you know, around the airport. Well, we were excited, you know, that they were waiting for us. (laughter) Well, when we landed we got -- you know, we did land. The landing 00:56:00gear came down, fortunately, and we landed safely, and we got off the plane, and before we got in the building here comes candidate Reagan. So we found out that they were just waiting for candidate Reagan instead of us. (laughter)KNIGHT: They landed us --
BENDIMIRE: But we enjoyed it!
KNIGHT: -- (overlapping dialogue; inaudible)!
WARREN: We said they used us as guinea pigs. If we landed then he could land.
BENDIMIRE: But it was interesting. We had an interesting few days up there --
WARREN: We really, really did.
BENDIMIRE: -- you know, with the campaign.
KNIGHT: And see, we worked out of the Amalgamated union hall. That's where,
that's where the campaign workers worked from was their union hall.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, in Concord, New Hampshire?
KNIGHT: Mm-hmm, yeah.
WARREN: It snowed the whole week we were there!
KNIGHT: And whoever that little fella was, he just loved these Georgia girls!
(laughter) And they liked to hear us talk. In fact, I talked so much that (laughter) -- 00:57:00WARREN: She couldn't talk on the way back!
KNIGHT: -- on the way home! I couldn't even talk! I had just lost my voice.
(inaudible, laughter).WARREN: We were going into a restaurant one night, several of us girls, you
know. We were talking, and there was a couple coming out of the restaurant, and, you know, we just -- as I said, ad-libbin', talking, and they stopped, they said, "Now just a minute." (laughter) They saw the car we were going to. Said, "Why are you talking like that and riding in a car with a Massachusetts, a New Hampshire tag on it?" They said, "We're up here teaching English lessons!" (laughter)KNIGHT: We've had an interesting life, really. For factory workers, I think
that we have done exceptionally well wherever we've been, and, of course, they always knew we were union. 00:58:00LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. Well, one of the things that the labor movement has provided,
one of the opportunities is the opportunity for leadership, that if you are going to lead an organization of 1,000 people you are going to have to demonstrate organizational skills, public speaking. You're going to have to be orderly and effective, and would you say that the labor movement provided you with those opportunities and also provided you with some training to acquire and polish those skills?KNIGHT: Yes, it did. All of that.
WARREN: You know, we not only had our local union here, but we also had the
active Georgia Joint Board, which all of the locals that were members of that, too, you know, we had that quarterly meetings, I know, for a while, and then I think we went to six months, a year. But of course, all of us, you know, were 00:59:00delegates to the, what we call the Georgia Joint Board Meeting, you know. We just referred to it as that, which, of course, that gave us a lot of experience also as far as public speaking and meeting with other people and how to deal with certain things that came up.BENDIMIRE: These two got me into it.
KNIGHT: We taught her everything she knows, and we're not through! (laughter)
BENDIMIRE: Oh, you're not? I thought sure I was through, 'cause they have
drug me from here to yonder! But I have enjoyed every minute of it, and they have really led me into a lot of experiences that I would have never been into had it not been for these two. (laughter) Richard knows that!WARREN: Interesting and educational.
BENDIMIRE: Yeah.
KNIGHT: Right.
BENDIMIRE: Really true. They taught me what I knew about the union. I
followed their examples, and they were good examples, and they taught me a lot 01:00:00of what I knew and always made sure I had my little contract in my pocket so I could go back to it if I needed to.WARREN: Another thing, too, you know -- we always attended the Georgia State
AFL-CIO meetings that was held.KNIGHT: Yeah. Louise and I went to the merger meeting, I guess.
WARREN: We went, we used to go -- we had meetings every year for a long time,
and then I think now you have them every two years, every two years. But anyway, we kept on going every year while we were there.KNIGHT: (laughter) In fact, Louise was responsible for Herbert Mabry getting
elected president. We were on the elevator… (laughter)WARREN: We do take credit for that, really.
LAPORTE: Well, Louise, now, (laughter) of course we have to hear this story of
how you got Herb Mabry elected to president of the Georgia State AFL-CIO! 01:01:00WARREN: Well, we just really ad-libbing! (laughter) No, we just met him, you
know, and he was just very friendly, outgoing, and he was just seeking office, and he just asked us to support him, and we didn't really know all that much about him, but, you know, we learned as we went along, of course, and from other people, but then in our caucus, you know, when we decided who we were going to support, some of them wanted to support someone else, you know, that was running, and I just said, "Well now, you know, I just think we need to consider Herbert Mabry because," you know, and I named two or three things that I thought, you know, that he would be eligible and able, capable of doing, and I said... And he has this warm, outgoing personality (laughter) that just kind of won the people over, and so our caucus voted to support him, and as well as a lot of others, you know. He was fortunate enough to win that year, and he stayed in until he retired, didn't he?KNIGHT: Yeah, he did.
01:02:00WARREN: Even though he had opposition from year to year, but he maintained it.
KNIGHT: I don't remember the year I went on the state board, but see, I was
-- well, I was one of the first three women that went on that Georgia State AFL-CIO board, and some of those men were not real, you know, really pleased. Some of the steel workers and automobile workers, but Martha -- let me see -- Louise Dean, I think which, who was an Amalgamated member, I think she was the first lady, and I think I went on either me or Martha True, and we were the first three women that was on the state board. But...WARREN: But Faye served as Vice President from our district on the board for
how many years?KNIGHT: Gosh.
WARREN: A number of years.
KNIGHT: About twenty, I would think.
LAPORTE: So Faye, your role at the legislative committee and as a delegate for
01:03:00the AFL-CIO, and then Vice President for this district, and as a member of the AFL-CIO's executive board. All of those experiences, again, did it provide you with that opportunity to demonstrate your organizational abilities, public speaking, negotiations?KNIGHT: I would go to Columbus at least every other month to their labor
council meetings, and on Labor Day I'd get the car loaded up and we would all go to Columbus and walk in the Labor Day parade. That was our Labor Day, and I still think about it.WARREN: We went to Atlanta before we started going to Columbus.
KNIGHT: Yeah, we did go to Atlanta one time, I remember that, yeah, but I
wanted to stay in good with those Columbus people because I had a lot of unions over there that elected me to office. And so evidently they felt like I'd done a pretty good job. I stayed with them -- I know it was at least 25 years. 01:04:00And I retired the year that I came off the board.--Break in Audio--
LAPORTE: ... career to do a special project with the Georgia State AF of L-CIO.
Do you recall that project that you worked on? Can you tell us a little bit about that?KNIGHT: It was the first year that computers had come into the picture, and we
were working to get all union members' names and affiliation and if they were registered voters, and that's how -- you can just pull up any local union in the state of Georgia, see how many members they've got and their names, and I took the southern part of the state and did that.LAPORTE: And so you were working on a union member database for the Georgia
state AFL-CIO.KNIGHT: Absolutely, mm-hmm, that's right.
LAPORTE: And that database recorded union membership, their address, and
01:05:00whether or not they were registered to vote, correct?KNIGHT: Right, mm-hmm.
LAPORTE: And what... Did you cover the entire Southern part of the state of Georgia?
KNIGHT: I had everything below Americus, Georgia. (laughter) Yeah.
LAPORTE: So you were working in Moultrie and Waycross and Savannah...
KNIGHT: Mm-hmm, Savannah, Jekyll Island, all of those. Brunswick, Valdosta.
Mm-hmm, yeah.LAPORTE: And is that database that was collected then --
KNIGHT: Is what they're using now.
LAPORTE: -- it's still in use today and being used in political campaigns and
elections by the state AFL-CIO.KNIGHT: That's right, mm-hmm.
LAPORTE: Very good. And I understand that all three of you ladies had a role
in the building of a union hall here in Americus. Is that right, and who played 01:06:00what role in that effort? Louise?WARREN: Well, I was not on the board in the beginning, what we call the Board
of Directors -- that's what we called it at that time -- but I know most of those who were on that board are not with us anymore. You know, they're all deceased except Rosella Deriso. I think she might be the only one that is still living, and her name is listed on this plaque that you're going to pick up.LAPORTE: Yes, ma'am.
WARREN: But, of course, they got their plans together, whatever they needed to
do -- and it's been so long, you know, I don't recall all the details.KNIGHT: 1954 it was built 'cause that's what's on the plaque.
WARREN: Yeah, 1954, yeah. (laughter)
01:07:00LAPORTE: So the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union Local 226, it
was the executive board members or the board of directors?WARREN: Well, the board of directors, however they brought all the information,
you know, to the executive board and the membership before anything was done. That was the procedure. You know, but they got all the planning, made all the planning, and then it was approved, by the board and the union members, and they went from there.LAPORTE: And how is the money set aside? How did they have the foresight to --
WARREN: Well, it was a certain amount each month that was taken from our union
dues that went toward the building, so...LAPORTE: So they had a building fund?
WARREN: Mm-hmm.
LAPORTE: And the building was built in 1954?
WARREN: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
LAPORTE: And how large of a building was it?
KNIGHT: (inaudible).
WARREN: I'm not sure of the footage.
KNIGHT: It was big!
WARREN: Square feet, I'm not sure, but it was big.
01:08:00LAPORTE: And that served as the union meeting place, offices, and what other
functions in that building?WARREN: Well, if we had any kind of social affair, whatever, and we did from
time to time. In fact, we had usually a little Christmas party every year, and where everybody would be invited, all the members and the families as well as politicians and the mayor and everybody would come to our little Christmas party.KNIGHT: But before we built the union hall, though, we met on the third floor
of one of the buildings downtown, and we met there until we built, until y'all built the union hall. I came in there somewhere, but... And then we celebrated our 50th anniversary in 1992.WARREN: '91.
KNIGHT: '91, and --
01:09:00WARREN: Yeah, our union here was organized 1941, and we celebrated in 1991 our
50th anniversary. We had a big, big to do. (laughter)KNIGHT: We got the company to open up the plant and let people tour it, and we
just really had a big party that year.LAPORTE: And your careers spanned how many years, Betty, with Manhattan Shirt Company?
KNIGHT: I went to work --
LAPORTE: Yes.
KNIGHT: -- I went to work in the latter part of '47, the early part of '48,
and I retired in '92.LAPORTE: And Louise, yours was similar? 1943?
WARREN: Mm-hmm, and I retired in 1988.
LAPORTE: And Betty, what about you? 1950?
BENDIMIRE: 1950…the plant closed when?
WARREN: '96.
KNIGHT: No, you were still there --
01:10:00BENDIMIRE: No, I had retired, I retired in '93. I believe it was '93.
WARREN: But the plant closed in '96, 1996. Yeah.
BENDIMIRE: It was open about three years after I retired before it closed.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. The plant closed in 1996, and how many jobs were lost in
Americus as a result of that?KNIGHT: Well, you know, I mentioned about the 1,100 in the '60s, but now you
know it did not remain at 1,100 over the years, and I expect when they moved or closed the plant it was probably only about 300, wasn't it?WARREN: Yeah, 'cause they'd already moved the cutting room.
KNIGHT: Something like that, 'cause they -- yeah, they had already moved
several options.WARREN: They moved, they moved it to Alabama.
LAPORTE: I see, mm-hmm.
WARREN: There was about three-hundred, three- or four-hundred, something like that.
LAPORTE: Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah. Well, looking at, you know, back on your
respective careers, what would you say that the union meant to you personally, 01:11:00and what it meant to this community, and what it meant to the workers that it represented? Faye, I'll start with you.KNIGHT: Well, really and truly, that plant, like I said in the beginning, it
was about the only place for women to work, but overall that plant provided families with food and clothing and shelter and education for many, many, many families in this area, and to me I could not have done the things that I have done, met the people I've met, been to the places I've been without my union and my close friends.LAPORTE: And so would you say that the union became --?
KNIGHT: My life! (laughter) Just my life.
01:12:00LAPORTE: Louise?
WARREN: I don't know what I could add to that, really. I mean, it would be
just repeating just about the same that she has said.LAPORTE: So just lessons that you learned, the skills that you acquired, did it
give you confidence --KNIGHT: Absolutely.
LAPORTE: -- in other areas of your life?
WARREN: Yes! That's where I learned to speak! (laughter) Really and truly, I
mean, because I was young when I started working, and then getting involved was, as she said, educational, and it just meant so much to me to, as I said, to have a job and be able to do the things that I was able to do, go places that I would not have gone otherwise, and from Georgia to California and New York and Florida. So it's just been an experience over the years. 01:13:00LAPORTE: And it's -- the impact that you've seen of the union in terms of
workers' lives, can you give me some examples of what you've seen, the results' of the union in terms of workers' lives?KNIGHT: Were you speaking of what they did materially with their... ?
LAPORTE: Their quality of life, their ability to own a home, purchase a car --
KNIGHT: Yeah, well, that's what I was going to say. You know, that's what
most of us immediately want to do is buy a home when we go to work, and so that bought many people a home and education, and we're repeating ourselves, but still that's what it is.LAPORTE: Well, the thing, the thing you said was the first example that you
gave, was the people were only too happy to join the union because it meant that they got healthcare coverage, and can you give me an example, perhaps, of 01:14:00someone who benefited from the union's insurance plan, that helped them in their life, and reflect on the union's role today in passing healthcare reform?KNIGHT: My goodness! (laughter) (break in audio) coverage.
LAPORTE: So Louise, the impact on people's lives in terms of what the union
brought to them, can you reflect on that, the benefits?WARREN: Insurance and... Well, they had the insurance and so, you know, when
you were sick sometimes you needed hospitalization, and so, you know, if you don't have it you're hurting, financially anyway. And so we had quite a few people that at that time, you know, they could stay in the hospital longer than they can now. You know, the insurance companies get you out now before you're really able to go home, but back then, you know, they were able to go to the 01:15:00hospital, to the doctors and the hospital, and if they had to be out for two or more than two weeks they were eligible for disability benefits. And of course they benefited from that, because that kind of supplemented their income while they were not drawing any paycheck.LAPORTE: Was it common for workers in Americus, Georgia to receive healthcare
benefits and hospitalization from their employer like the --?WARREN: No, not at that time. No. I expect we were probably about the only
ones that did have it that I know of at that time.LAPORTE: So Local 226 of ACTWU negotiated that benefit, and did it become the
standard that other workers in this area sought to achieve?WARREN: Yes! You know, they were a little jealous, maybe, that we had it and
01:16:00they didn't, but anyway, we were just fortunate that we were able to get it as early as we did, you know, with our local.LAPORTE: And Betty, I'm going to turn to you and ask a similar question about
the impact the union has had on your life personally, and then the benefits it provided to workers in general from your perspective.BENDIMIRE: Well, when my husband died then that -- I had a job, I had security,
I had insurance. I was able to live and not have to worry about where my paycheck was coming from. I had, was able if I was sick and I was in the hospital I was able to draw money to tide me over until I was able to go back to work, so I personally know what the health insurance meant, because I had to use it after he died, and a lot of the people that I worked with -- I've had 01:17:00numerous people to come to me and talk about, you know, how much they benefited from having the insurance, because they were able to stay out and look after their children, and -- if they were sick. And later on we were, got our family, our children and all covered under the insurance, and that meant so much to the workers.LAPORTE: Mm-hmm. Well, if we take a step back, and here we are in 2010, and
the rate of unionization in the United States in the private sector is below 10%, and overall it's about 13%, and today the majority of union members are public sector workers -- teachers, police officers, firefighters. What do you 01:18:00see the future for workers if the trend continues that there are fewer workers in unions in the United States? Faye, I'll start with you.KNIGHT: I can't see that it's going to be an easy road to travel, because
first of all, as you say, your unions, they're being done away with and they're not going to have the union to represent them and have the job security and the -- like we've been talking about the insurance -- because we just don't see that in the future. I'm worried about it, really.LAPORTE: Louise?
WARREN: Well, with all the textile plants, you know, most of them have gone
overseas now, and that has just done away with our locals, our unions, because of the fact that they've moved them over there, and until we can get some elected officials in office that maybe can stop that... Maybe, maybe that will happen in the future -- I hope it will -- that we can get the elected officials 01:19:00that they will stop them from moving and get the companies to move them back. That's just hopeful wishing --LAPORTE: Yes.
WARREN: -- but that's what we would like to see.
LAPORTE: Uh huh. All right. Betty, can you get your crystal ball about the
future and the labor movement, the effect on working people?BENDIMIRE: Well, a lot of people don't realize what benefits mean. I think
they're becoming more aware of it, because used to they didn't worry about the benefits, but now they do because as my grandson has come along and got out of school and has a job, he realizes what his benefits mean to him, and more people are doing that, and they're going to be lost out there without unions 01:20:00because a lot of companies, they just -- they don't have to do it so they don't do it, they don't cover like they should, and I think that's going to be bad for the people that are coming along. We need to get our plants back working, we need to get them unionized and have more of that in the future.LAPORTE: And I want to just ask about this effort of cooperation between the
unions and management where it was mutually beneficial, and all three of you have commented on the success you had at working together with people identifying common goals. Do you think there is a possibility of doing that between labor and management and government here in the United States where there is a realization of workers' interests are economic interests, which 01:21:00promotes business activity? Faye, I know that's a philosophical question, but I want to get your insights.KNIGHT: Well, like I say, I think -- well, it should be where you could sit
down and talk. See, like the President, you know -- they want that union support, but then when it comes to really doing something for the people, that goes lacking, you know, they don't follow through with what their campaign pledges are. So you know, I think the unions in the United States have a very dim future.LAPORTE: Louise?
WARREN: I agree with that, I just can't... And of course, it's
disappointing to us that it has come to this point, you know, that they don't seem to care anymore, they'd just rather not have the unions involved at all -- so many, not everybody, but so many. And then that hurts it overall because 01:22:00of the indifference there, and we just don't want any union, any part of it some people would tell you. [inaudible] So we just have to hope for the best in the future.LAPORTE: Betty?
BENDIMIRE: Well, that didn't leave much for me to say. (laughter) What they
have said means that we've got to talk to our representatives and all and get them to do what they need to do to get it back is the best thing that we can do.LAPORTE: OK. Well, what we've done here today is made a very valuable
contribution to the oral history of the Southern Labor Archives, and the voices that you have heard have been from Faye Knight and Louise Warren and -- Betty, 01:23:00help me out here! (laughter)BENDIMIRE: Betty Bendimire.
LAPORTE: Betty Bendimire. All three were deeply involved as union leaders in
Sumter County, in Americus, Georgia. All three worked at the Manhattan Shirt Company. All three were members and officers of Local 226 of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. On behalf of Georgia State University, the Southern Labor Archives, the Voices of Labor Oral History Project, I want to thank each of you for your contributions here today and for adding to the record of labor's achievement in the South and the achievements of working people and the contributions that it has made to this nation. And with that, I will stop the player.