Willie McReynolds Interview

AMY MELL: And today is June 12, 2013. It's a Wednesday. We're here at the Winpisinger in Placid Harbor. And we are working on our history of our local project. I am joined with Mil -- William McReynolds from Local Lodge 1932 out of California. Welcome.

WILLIE McREYNOLDS: Thank you.

MELL: So today we are just going to talk a little about your work with the union --

McREYNOLDS: OK.

MELL: -- your job, things you've done. So let me start by asking what day were you born?

McREYNOLDS: Oh, on September 24th, 1943.

MELL: Nineteen forty-three. And where were you born?

McREYNOLDS: Birmingham, Alabama.

MELL: OK. And how was it growing up in Birmingham in 1943?

McREYNOLDS: Well, I really don't know because we moved out to California while I was still a little kid.

MELL: How old were you?

McREYNOLDS: I think I was five when we moved out here. Moved to Compton.

MELL: Compton, California?

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: And how was it growing up there?

McREYNOLDS: It was nice. I liked it. I enjoyed it.

MELL: Yes? Did you have any brothers or sisters?

McREYNOLDS: Had, uh, when I first -- it was -- I had one brother and one sister and then nine years -- well, six years after we moved out there then I had, uh, four more sisters. (laughter)

MELL: Oh, my goodness! That's a big family.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: And did your mom work?

McREYNOLDS: Yes.

MELL: Besides take care of all of you?

McREYNOLDS: She -- yeah, besides taking care of -- at first she did day work and then -- then she worked at the canneries.

MELL: Did your father work?

McREYNOLDS: Yes. He -- in Alabama he was working at a steel mill and then in 00:02:00California he was working at General Motors and Douglas Aircraft. And then he bought trucks and he was a truck driver from then on.

MELL: Oh, really? And what was the reason that he moved his family?

McREYNOLDS: He -- during the war he had came through Los Angeles and he liked it so he moved his family out here.

MELL: So he -- did he fight in the war?

McREYNOLDS: He was in the Navy, so, uh, and I don't know whether they saw action or not but I know that he was out in the Pacific.

MELL: Yeah. So, uh, were -- was he in a union as a steel worker?

McREYNOLDS: He was in a union -- the first I know of -- at General Motors. He was in, uh, whatever the auto unon -- union was.

MELL: OK. So you pretty much were raised union family? You were used to being in a union or --?

McREYNOLDS: Well, he paid union dues but he didn't participate in it.

MELL: Because of the rules or why didn't he participate?

McREYNOLDS: I really don't know. I just know -- all we knew was that he was in the union but he never went to union meetings or anything.

MELL: OK. And then what was your first job?

McREYNOLDS: My first job was at the Air Force. I was in the Air Force. I got out of high school, graduated in June, went in the Air Force in September, spent four years in and then got out of the Air Force on a Friday. Got hired at TWA on a Wednesday -- the next Wednesday.

MELL: Really?

McREYNOLDS: So I -- I was working ramp on the -- at, uh, TWA.

MELL: So you worked the ramp? That's where you started?

McREYNOLDS: Yes.

MELL: Is that all you ever did or did you change positions?

McREYNOLDS: No, I changed -- because I had, uh, in -- moved up to avionics mechanic because I was a radio repairer in the Air Force, so I moved up.

MELL: So radio repair and then avionics at TWA (inaudible).

McREYNOLDS: Yeah, it's pretty much the same, you know.

MELL: Did you get your A&P?

McREYNOLDS: No.

MELL: Ever?

McREYNOLDS: No.

MELL: OK. You worked in the avionics and did TWA -- were they all union when you started?

McREYNOLDS: Yes. The -- well, the agents wasn't but, uh, the ramp and mechanics was union.

MELL: And was that with the IAM?

McREYNOLDS: IAM.

MELL: So you joined right up?

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: So how many years have you been in the union then?

McREYNOLDS: Ah, I started in '65 and am still in. (laughter)

MELL: Yes? And are you active now or retired?

McREYNOLDS: I'm retired.

MELL: And when did you retire?

McREYNOLDS: I retired in '02.

MELL: And --

McREYNOLDS: And that was because of, uh, I took a medical retirement. I had -- I tore rotator cuffs in both my left and right shoulders. No, I just tore the left shoulder at first. And then they repaired it and when they said, "OK, now we are going to strengthen it so you can go back to work." And in the rehab, I tore it again. (laughter) So they said, "Well, no more work for you."

MELL: And did you, um, damage it the first time at work?

McREYNOLDS: At work, yes.

MELL: Oh, my goodness. So, um, were they still TWA when you retired?

McREYNOLDS: Yes.

MELL: It was continuous?

McREYNOLDS: No, when I retired -- American had come in so I had a option I could take a retirement from TWA or American. But TWA had a better insurance plan, so I went with TWA.

MELL: Oh, OK. And did you hold any offices while you were in the union while you were working?

McREYNOLDS: Yes. Let's see. I was -- I started off, naturally, a shop steward and I was -- got elected to trustee and I was on the Safety Committee. I was editor for a long -- for the newsletter and I also was, uh, was, uh, Safety 00:07:00Editor. Oh, I guess (inaudible) oh. Full-time Grievance Committee.

MELL: All right. And how many members were there in your union that you can recall?

McREYNOLDS: The local --

MELL: Mmm-hmm.

McREYNOLDS: -- to start off we had about 1,600 members. I don't know how much it was at the end because we had -- we organized a ticket agents and reservation agents at TWA so there was a lot more at the end and then, uh, and then --

MELL: So -- go ahead.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah, and then when we got through -- when they -- when American 00:08:00took over the agents went non-union and the mechanics and ramp went TWAU.

MELL: OK. And that was about the time -- that was when you retired?

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: OK. So at the time then you were a steward, how many stewards to you think that you had?

McREYNOLDS: Uh, we must have had 30. About 30.

MELL: Did you do a lot of grievances?

McREYNOLDS: Quite a few.

MELL: Did you -- do you have any interesting stories about any of those that you can recall?

McREYNOLDS: Oh, it was some of them it was, you know, kind -- some of them was real interesting but, you know, it was kind of personal so, you know.

MELL: Yeah?

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: OK. And did you enjoy your position as trustee?

McREYNOLDS: Trustee I really enjoyed. I -- I was trustee -- I got elected and I 00:09:00think I was re-elected to trustee six times.

MELL: Six times.

McREYNOLDS: Yes.

MELL: Fantastic. What part of that position did you enjoy?

McREYNOLDS: Well, I liked, uh, the idea of, uh, having a voice in the, the movement of the local plus I also was there for audits, you know, when the -- on the books to make sure everything was going right, you know, that nothing was being taken away that wasn't supposed to go. (laughter)

MELL: And did it stay in order for you?

McREYNOLDS: Yes.

MELL: Was everything -- ?

McREYNOLDS: Yes, everything was up-to-date all the way until right near the end we had a problem.

MELL: Right.

McREYNOLDS: Some money disappeared.

MELL: Did they figure out who it was?

McREYNOLDS: They had a good suspicion, but they never brought charges or anything. And the international came in and -- and, uh, investigated but, uh, they just let it go.

MELL: Yeah.

McREYNOLDS: But, uh, the bonding company did reimburse for the money that was missing.

MELL: Oh, my goodness. That's good. And when you were on the Safety Committee, did you enjoy that spot?

McREYNOLDS: I really enjoyed the Safety Committee because, uh, I guess TWA is like most corporations. They want to get things done as cheaply as possible so they want to cut corners. So, uh, we had to really stay on them about safety issues.

MELL: Was there anything that was especially dangerous that you had assisted in changing?

McREYNOLDS: No, the basic things they was trying to do was trying to get people to cut corners when they was doing things, you know, like you are supposed to work, jobs where you got to have a -- a standby person on them. They, you know, wanted you to do it without them and things like that and, you know, it just wasn't happening because you get somebody working in the fuel tank they are in there working and, hey, those fumes can overcome you even though they got the test equipment there to be testing the air, you need that person there in case something did happen (inaudible). So it was a -- it kept them running so that's -- that's what -- what I liked about it.

MELL: Very useful position for you.

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: Yeah. That's good. And then you were editor of your Local?

McREYNOLDS: Yes, I was -- I was the editor of the Local newsletter for about two years I think. And that was fun because I got to write the editorials and all 00:12:00and I did enjoy that.

MELL: Did you have some good stories?

McREYNOLDS: Oh, I used to write some stuff that they didn't like to hear sometime, you know, because --

MELL: That the company didn't like or that the members didn't like?

McREYNOLDS: Well, it's both because I called things -- because we had a lot of members out there that would -- they wanted to cut corners cause they say, "Well, we -- if we cut corners we can get longer breaks and all this." But, uh, you know, and I would call attention to all this stuff that's happening and so some of the members didn't like that at all. But other members did like it because it -- it was, you know, keeping things going the way they were supposed to go.

MELL: That's good. Any other exciting stories?

McREYNOLDS: No, most of the best stories came when I was on the Grievance Committee, but on the Grievance Committee most of that was -- was, uh, confidential stuff so I can't talk about those --

MELL: Right.

McREYNOLDS: -- but -- but there were some good ones. I mean, we had some people doing stuff that you wouldn't -- you wouldn't believe.

MELL: Really?

McREYNOLDS: I got to tell you -- I got to tell you about this one with no name. We had one instance where three members out there they had a big box and they said it was van equipment and they would load it on the aircraft. Aircraft take off they get to New York and, uh, in the meantime the post office was putting on mail and stuff that had valuable stuff and well, it would disappear and nobody could figure out what happened because the post office stayed there and watched 00:14:00them close the door and they was there when they opened the door but nothing. So finally one day the box is coming down the belt and it falls off. And (laughter) here's this guy come rolling from out the box. He was in the box, had oxygen masks. He would go up, go through the mail and stuff, steal the valuable stuff, and they had some empty bags on there with some fake bag tickets. They would get in, put the stuff on them, put transfer bag tags on them and when the plane land, these tags -- these bags would go to this other airport and, uh --

MELL: Wow.

McREYNOLDS: -- you know, and these guys would pick the box up there and they would ship it back and I guess they had done it for quite a while because the 00:15:00oxygen mask -- the oxygen tank was almost empty when they caught him.

MELL: Really? How did they catch him? Because he --

McREYNOLDS: The box fell off the belt and popped open and that's --

MELL: And the guy was in it.

McREYNOLDS: -- and that's the only way -- the guy was in it. Yeah.

MELL: Wow.

McREYNOLDS: Because I had -- these guys got -- they got, you know, federal time for that, you know.

MELL: So you couldn't win that grievance, could you?

McREYNOLDS: Oh, no. No. (laughter) There was no winning that.

MELL: That is quite a story.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: Oh, my goodness.

McREYNOLDS: There was one -- they wrote it up in Playboy magazine.

MELL: Really?

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: How else do you get so notorious?

McREYNOLDS: They wanted to make a movie out of it --

MELL: Really? Wow.

McREYNOLDS: -- but -- but I don't know. For some reason, they didn't, you know.

MELL: So they didn't miss the employee when he was in the box in the plane?

McREYNOLDS: Well, what he was -- he would do that on their off-time.

MELL: OK.

McREYNOLDS: So they would work and then in their off-time they would -- but they only did these on these flights from LA to New York. They used to have a lot of valuable stuff on there.

MELL: Give them time.

McREYNOLDS: So they knew what flights to go on and do this.

MELL: And what year would that have been?

McREYNOLDS: That must have been, oh, I'd say that was in the '70s somewhere. The mid-'70s.

MELL: Did it seem like there was maybe more room in the belly of the airplane? Because now they pack those things pretty tight with suitcases.

McREYNOLDS: Well, the -- at that time they had a lot of flights and they wasn't like they are now. Now they have cut the flights down so everything is going out. Back then you had plenty of room on the plane because back then you had no problem with getting on on a pass and going where you want when you want. 00:17:00But now, you know, hey, I don't even try and get on a pass anymore.

MELL: So you've seen a lot of changes in the airline industry.

McREYNOLDS: Oh, yes. Quite a bit.

MELL: Yeah. Do -- and do you think they are for the better or the worse?

McREYNOLDS: Most seems to be for the worst.

MELL: Yeah.

McREYNOLDS: It's -- it was -- the airline industry used to be about service to the passenger.

MELL: Mmm-hmm.

McREYNOLDS: Now it's like they are doing you a favor to let you ride on the aircraft and so (inaudible). It's definitely, uh, the owners now only concern is for them to make money. Whether you're comfortable and happy as a passenger 00:18:00makes no difference to them at all. I mean, they used to have first class meals, you know, filet mignon, you know, porter house steaks and all this stuff --

MELL: Nice. Yeah.

McREYNOLDS: -- yeah. Now you get a sandwich, you know, so. (laughter)

MELL: You're lucky if you get the sandwich.

McREYNOLDS: That's it.

MELL: Yeah. So let's see. Um. Do you think that being part of the union has given you opportunities that you may not have had otherwise?

McREYNOLDS: Yes. Yes. Ben -- ben -- benefits you get from the union it's something -- it's a phrase, but it's true. It pays to be in a union. It doesn't cost. It -- it definitely -- the benefits you get from being in a union is well worth the money you pay for union dues.

MELL: Yeah. Um. And it sounds like you were very involved so you got to --

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: -- to use your benefits. Did you travel at all before?

McREYNOLDS: Bef --

MELL: I mean, um, union business or did you always stay at home?

McREYNOLDS: Well, I -- I -- once I started with the airline I traveled a lot, you know, both pleasure and union because I used to go to all the union, you know, conventions and conferences and things like that, you know, to quite a few. Because, see, what it is out there it's being in IAM you had to get elected and if you was good you can get elected to these things and I -- I was good enough to get elected to -- to participate in almost anything I wanted to.

MELL: And then would you bring that information back to the rest of them and (inaudible) share it?

McREYNOLDS: Oh, yes. Yes. That's why -- because whatever I did I came back 00:20:00with a full report and -- and it did help the membership.

MELL: That's good. That's important. Do you see a difference in that now? I mean, the membership and the information they get or the information that they are interested in?

McREYNOLDS: Well, as far as the union go it seems like they are -- they still have good information, but it's just that they can't afford to send as many people to as many places, you know, to get as much as they used to. You know, it's just that the membership -- union membership had fallen off so the money is just not there to send people like -- like they used to send people.

MELL: So at the local -- from the local level.

McREYNOLDS: From the local level, yes.

MELL: OK.

McREYNOLDS: Yes. On the -- on the international level and all this, it's 00:21:00great. They still got the great service, the great programs and everything, so if you can afford to -- if a local can afford to send their people back to get all the training and stuff, they get grade A number one service.

MELL: Is there any class -- any classes that you took?

McREYNOLDS: Oh, I went to Leadership I, Leadership II, Advanced Leadership, went to trustee training, went to, uh, uh, editor school, uh. I'm sure there's some more I just can't think of right now, but I went to quite a few.

MELL: Yeah. And how did you enjoy the leadership?

McREYNOLDS: The leadership was great because with me coming just from high school right into the workforce and my father never taught me what -- that's 00:22:00why I say when he was in the union he never taught me what it was about and all. So I had no idea all this stuff was there, the information and stuff. So it was great, you know, and -- and, uh, these -- it really helped me to learn these things, you know, to get the training that I got from the union. It made me a much better leader than I would have been otherwise.

MELL: That's good. Made you a good person.

McREYNOLDS: It was --

MELL: Let's see. Do you have any, uh, specific issues or that with the union that, um, maybe you feel is getting lost on the new membership or any new issues 00:23:00that the union offers that's exceptional that maybe you didn't have the opportunity to partake of?

McREYNOLDS: No, but I do have one thing that I did see that changed. When I started off it was very few women and very few non-whites that was in -- in these leadership positions and now, you know, you look at your stewards, your local lodge leadership, all the way up to your (inaudible) president and everything and it -- it's all great just like now at the IAM on the top level 00:24:00we got blacks, we got women, we have everything now, you know. This was unheard of. When I first started, it was nothing but white men and, you know, and no one else had a chance at those positions.

MELL: Did you -- when you started working then, did you feel, um, threatened at any time by the white males?

McREYNOLDS: Well, no, I didn't because -- most of the people that was in this industry took you for what you were. So I didn't have -- but I did have my -- I've had people that tell me I'm not voting for you because you're black, you know, and that was the only reason, you know. And I was -- I was happy that they was upfront like that, you know, and, uh, and, you know, I just thanked 00:25:00them and moved on and -- and, uh, and I just convinced enough people and showed them what I was about to where I did get enough votes to get elected because that's what I liked about the IAM. It was about the membership. The membership elected you. It wasn't just having somebody standing there and going to appoint everybody that's going to go and do things. And our Local everything was done by election.

MELL: That is good.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: So they could really measure your personality or your, um, how well you were going to help them.

McREYNOLDS: Exactly.

MELL: So that says a lot for you too then because you got re-elected that many times so --

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: -- you were doing something good.

McREYNOLDS: And I always won because this one guy came up to me and I got elected when I also got elected to the Grievance Committee he say, "You are the first black and just the second person to ever be on both the Grievance Committee and the Executive Board," you know, and I had never thought about that but, hey, I was, you know, I was proud of that once I found out.

MELL: That's --

McREYNOLDS: That was -- I wasn't, you know, running because of that --

MELL: Right.

McREYNOLDS: -- because I didn't even know it until after it happened. (laughter)

MELL: Yeah. That's fantastic.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: So you are making history there. And did you, uh, so where there other groups in your Local or were you a Local only of TWA?

McREYNOLDS: When we started off, we was only TWA. So it made it easier for us 00:27:00because we had just one group of managers to deal with. Afterwards when they started, uh, it really started when FedEx bought Flying Tigers then, you know, that local went away so people that they had in their local they had foreign flag, you know, they had Mexicana and Air Mexico and a few other very, you know, a few other foreign flag carriers that came in to our local. So then we had to stop just thinking TWA and then we had to think of the good of all and so it did change our thinking when that happened.

MELL: Did you find it hard to help or service the other groups? Keep them involved and apprised of information.

McREYNOLDS: Well, no we didn't because the other groups were so small, you didn't have any of them to try for the leadership positions and they, they elected their stewards from their workgroup. So they got the necessary -- you know, the people that knew the problems that they had. Because it wouldn't have made sense for me from TWA to go over to Air Mexico and try and work a grievance and I have no idea how they worked over there, you know, and what their contract consisted of. So, uh, but -- but they wasn't concerned about -- 00:29:00they just wanted the representation and that was all, so -- so we didn't have any problems there.

MELL: Did they come to the meetings?

McREYNOLDS: We had -- the ones that wanted to be stewards came to the meetings because it was required if you was gonna be any kind of official, you know, and a steward is official. Any official at all you had to attend half of the available membership meetings in a year.

MELL: Mmm-hmm. So you have a little -- a little cross cut from everybody.

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: That's good. Did, uh, some of those people get on the board as well?

McREYNOLDS: None of them ever ran for any of the executive board positions.

MELL: That's interesting.

McREYNOLDS: So they never did.

MELL: Um. And then how about -- was there any special pressures or anything put on you or your home life because of having to do classes or spend extra time maybe doing a grievance or anything? Did it take away from your family time?

McREYNOLDS: It took away from my family time, but my family understood so -- so it was no problem and, uh, so everything was all right there, you know, and one thing that it did -- when I first started out I used to -- I would carpool to work and I had to stop carpooling because a lot of times I'd get a call near time to go to work when I got to go to represent somebody and the person I'm riding with, you know, it's time for them to go home. So I had to start 00:31:00driving myself. So it cost me a little bit more money, you know, buying gas but other than that, that was the only -- only inconvenience. It wasn't a problem just an inconvenience.

MELL: Mmm-hmm. And then, uh, so traveling out for your classes and, uh, it's just a week's time?

McREYNOLDS: Well, some of them was one week and some was two because at the time when I went we didn't have this Winpisinger Center. At that time, we went to school at colleges during the summer when they was on break. And you would go -- it was two weeks you would be there and, you know, and most of the time -- I don't know why though -- they would go to, uh, a school that was for girls and 00:32:00I used to stay there and my legs hang off the bed --(laughter)-- but, yeah.

MELL: That's funny. So, uh, what, uh, did you think when you were working and in the union and you had done these positions, steward and trustee and, um, safety editor and all that, did you ever see yourself going further up and, uh, becoming, like, a rep or anything like that.

McREYNOLDS: Oh, no, I didn't because of my family. See, I did, you know, I have kind of tight family and if you was these reps, you were gone so much. I didn't want that, you know, I was -- I had been talked to about why not run for that head position, but I didn't want to be away from my family as much as 00:33:00I would have had to be to do that job. So I, you know, and I believe if you are going to do a job, do it right.

MELL: Absolutely.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: Yeah. It's also probably makes you feel good that they were interested in having you run --

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: -- because, like you said, without women and black men, that took a long time and --

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: -- so that's quite a compliment.

McREYNOLDS: That's -- that's right.

MELL: Let's see. Do you have anything else that I may not have asked that you want to share that you can think of? Any stories and anyone -- how about anyone that you met that you may not have otherwise had the opportunity to meet, say, if you -- I don't know -- met any political meetings or anyone higher up that 00:34:00we have presidents of --

McREYNOLDS: Yes.

MELL: OK.

McREYNOLDS: Yes, I got -- for one thing now there is a lot of my, you know, my federal, ah, senators and representatives and some of them are state representatives, but our financial secretary, Robert Rhodes, he came from TWA also. He came in at the same time so we knew each other back in the day and I don't think he ever thought he would be in that positions and I never thought, but at that time, what was so funny -- I used -- I was one that I would always stand up. You know, I didn't care what you said about me. I would stand up and tell you what I believe and I used to tell people at every convention conference 00:35:00we went to at the end, I'd stand up and they'd ask for what does this delegate stand? And I'd say, "I'm standing because look at us out here and look at you up there. The membership out here does not look like you look up on the podium." And even though people at first thought I was trying to get a job for me and when they found out, you know, when they -- I was approached and asked about it and then they understand that it wasn't that then they and (inaudible) but I think Robert Rhodes was one that at that time he -- he was -- he felt bad because it was none of us in management but he didn't say anything 00:36:00about it or anything. He just did his job and took it in and I think he's glad that it was outspoken people like me --

MELL: Mmm-hmm.

McREYNOLDS: -- or else I don't think he would be in the position he's in now. Here it is now he's the number two man in -- in the machinist's union.

MELL: Yes he is. And when you say, that you stood up and said, "There's no one up there that looks like me," what did you mean by that?

McREYNOLDS: It was no blacks. It was nothing up there but white male and that's why I told them there's nothing up there but white men. I say, "You look out here, it's a rainbow of people and women out here." And that's because I wanted to see women just as much as I want to see blacks because they 00:37:00had no women at that time and I know there was a lot of women that was capable of doing some of the jobs that needed doing.

MELL: Did you also work with people of other ethnic backgrounds?

McREYNOLDS: Yes, I worked with people from a lot of Hispanics and, um, one of my best friends was Irish -- Irishman and another one from Scotland and so I, you know, and I got along with them all, you know. Like I say, I never was one -- I didn't even look at people. When I was coming up, when I bought my house, I 00:38:00called to report this guy that was walking up and down, walking in driveways and walking back out and (inaudible) and they asked me what color is he? I couldn't even tell them because I don't pay attention to color, you know, and I had to tell them, you know, "I don't know," you know. And they said, "Well, you had to notice." But I actually didn't. I never did pay attention to color of skin or, you know, to me whether you Hispanic or, you know, white, you know, Portuguese, whatever, you're all the same -- we're all the same. And that was -- that was my only -- only problem I had like I say with the union at the beginning was that they didn't see things that way. But 00:39:00then they finally -- I think after they heard it enough they started saying, "Hey," you know, "they are right," because once I started, other people would talk also. And -- because I had people that come up afterwards. They wouldn't say anything on the floor but they say, "Hey, that's good job what you said," you know. Because they felt it but they just didn't want to make waves.

MELL: Yeah.

McREYNOLDS: Well, I -- I didn't have -- I wasn't looking to go forward, so I could say what I wanted to without any fear, you know.

MELL: Mmm-hmm.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: Well, it seemed to work.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah. (laughter)

MELL: Let's see. So is there anyone else that you've met because of your participation in the union? Any elected officials or --

McREYNOLDS: Well, I -- I met quite a few elect -- the positions in the -- in Congress and -- and the State Houses and all, you know, where -- because as -- oh, that's what I missed out. I was legislative chair for a while.

MELL: Oh, OK.

McREYNOLDS: And as legislative chair, I met quite a few people that I had to go and talk to and all and these are people I never would have talked to, I don't think, otherwise if I hadn't been in that position. And like I say, the union provided me, you know, with that opportunity.

MELL: Did you have to do any door knocking?

McREYNOLDS: Oh, yes, I did. Back in the -- I paid my dues. I did door knocking with plenty of going, you know, trying to get people out to vote and, you know, I did it all.

MELL: Did you -- were you involved in any strikes or picketing?

McREYNOLDS: Yes. There was quite a few strikes. I was involved in the big strike -- big airline strike in 1966 when five major airlines was on strike in the United States and that's when they came out and they said we'll never allow five airlines to go on strike again at one time. But I -- not only was I -- my big -- I was involved with the Eastern strike against Lorenzo when Lorenzo was 00:42:00-- he had Texas Air and Continental Airlines and he was trying to kill them and he did end up getting rid of Eastern and he never could kill Continental but he almost did and, uh, and, uh, I also was involved in other, like, the greats --the grape strike they had out in California and Arizona for the farm workers. I went picketed with those people and, uh, just whenever there was a call for people to assist other people, if I could, I was there.

MELL: That's fantastic. So were you actually during that one strike when the five airlines went, um, were -- was it part of your airline so you were actually 00:43:00on strike yourself?

McREYNOLDS: In '66 yes that was -- I was on strike too. That was, uh, there was United, Continental, Eastern, TWA, and Northwest. I think. Not Northwest. Northeast. And we was on strike for 60 something days at that time. That was in the middle of summer. It was hot out there walking picket line, but we did it.

MELL: Did you get a lot of support from everyone around?

McREYNOLDS: We got pretty good support, yes.

MELL: They kept you on in the hot days?

McREYNOLDS: Yeah. And -- and what really helped us out there the longshoreman 00:44:00when you are on strike, they would let you come down and work -- work at the docks and, uh, long shore pay money good enough to where you work two days down there and it's just like you working your regular job, so so you are not really hurting yourself too much if you did that, you know, so -- so that was real nice. And, uh, and, like I say, people would come up and when they know you're on strike they didn't really push you and if they knew you was on strike, they say, "OK, we'll give you a little extra time to come up, you know, with the money you owe and stuff like that." So --

MELL: For your bills and stuff?

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: Oh, wow. That's fantastic.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: Yeah. So then you became a longshoreman for a couple days a week.

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: So what kind of work did you do at that?

McREYNOLDS: Oh, one day I was unloading boxcars. That's -- we was -- we was taking -- boxcars came in with I think it was 100 pound bags. I don't remember what was in them but we had to take them, put them on pallets and then take the pallets and they put the -- load the pallets on the ship and I worked -- the steel ship one time they sent in these (inaudible) big old rolls of steel and you got to go down and hook them up and -- and it's -- it's -- it's -- it's dangerous work if you don't know what you're doing but, you know, the guys help you and tell you what to do and all and I worked a rubber boat one time and, you know, the -- the rubber came over in bales and you got to get them out the belly of the -- belly of the ship. You had, you know, you put them on -- 00:46:00at that time they didn't have containers. They had just -- just, uh, flats and you -- you stacked them on a flat and then they took them out. But it was -- it was -- it was nice work, you know. It was hard work but I was used to hard work so I didn't mind it.

MELL: Yeah. And, uh, at any time during the strike, did you think you wanted to switch?

McREYNOLDS: I wished I could, but I knew you couldn't -- you can't just walk into the longshoreman union. You got to -- you really got to get someone to -- to recommend you and from what I understand -- at that time they could only -- while they are working they only get one other person that they can -- they can get hired. So, you know, if you weren't the son of somebody, you could forget it, you know, so.

MELL: Wow. Yeah, that's different. That's different than what you had with the airline.

McREYNOLDS: Yeah.

MELL: That's exciting. What ended up, uh, changing so the strike would end?

McREYNOLDS: I think what end up changed was -- was, uh, the federal government and -- and because they was threatening to, uh, hit us with injunctions and force us back to work and all that because we -- when we went back to work, we didn't get that much more than we did before we went out, you now, but at that time, the political situation I think is what made the strike end.

MELL: That brings up a good point. What caused the strike?

McREYNOLDS: The strike was just caused by people on the make all the money and not give the workers a fair deal, you know. All the workers was asking for is just, you know, a fair -- you know, I'll give you labor and for this labor you give me a fair price. And they just didn't want to give a fair price. They wanted to make all the money, you know, and, you know, we know they are going to make a lot of money, but they shouldn't be at this -- at the place where they want to take all the money. And that's -- that's all it was and that's the same thing with Lorenzo at Texas Air, you know. That whole strike was just about money. He just wanted more money. He had plenty of money. He had Continental Airlines, Texas International but he just wanted more. Same thing at that time I 00:49:00walked in this strike and it was with the people that made Spam, you know, and at the time we got to saying, "Cram your Spam," you know, because I think everybody likes Spam. I loved them, but I wouldn't eat it. You couldn't eat it in my house. Same thing during the strawberry strikes, you know, my kids and, I mean, the grape -- the grape (inaudible) the grape strike. They loved grapes and I do too, but I told them, "Hey, you can't bring" -- (inaudible) those people are on strike. Even though we wasn't on strike, we're supporting the people that are on strike. And that's the only way for us to make -- we got to support each other.

MELL: Definitely.

McREYNOLDS: That's -- that's what they do in business and the workers got to do the same thing and it's more of us than it is of them. If we would support 00:50:00each other, we wouldn't have all the problems we have.

MELL: Mmm-hmm. At the time that you were going on strike, were you actually at a, um, a point for a contract negotiation or did it just come up that it was time for a raise for everybody?

McREYNOLDS: Well, it was contract negotiation and that's -- that's why, as I said, they made sure it wouldn't happen because they wouldn't let that many contracts in at the same time (inaudible) they staggered the time of contract ending, so that's -- that was just -- because at that time, all your contract was three-year contracts and, uh, I don't know how they managed to get one of them to all, you know, where you had five ending at the same time but they 00:51:00realized they had made a mistake right afterwards and they just didn't do it anymore.

MELL: Do you participate in any other union-sponsored activities? Food drives or have you been to the guide dogs or do you guys do anything as your local?

McREYNOLDS: Yes, I do -- for the guide dogs all the time and I used to -- when I was working at -- what TWA did -- we had, uh, payroll deduction for guide dogs. We – we, ah, talked the company into letting that happen and they would bring the dogs down and let us take them around to people at TWA and they see them and all and, uh, get money for -- for the dogs and -- and I've always, you know, I 00:52:00helped support that and any -- any of these things that come around, you know, uh, you know. I just believe that we are too good of a nation to have people in situations where they can't afford to get the things they need. You know, a person lose their sight, they shouldn't have to worry about anything, you know. It's no big thing, you know. I know those dogs cost a lot to train and all, but, hey, that money should be -- should be made available and we got enough corporations making enough money to where they can support those kind of programs if they wanted to. But they just know that the most people that need 00:53:00these are working people and they just don't want to give this type of benefit to a worker.

MELL: Did you do any other activities or your local?

McREYNOLDS: Uh. For local, no, I guess that's about all I did for the local, yeah. But I did get into all kind of things, you know. I played, uh, basketball for -- the company had a basketball team. I played on it and, uh, we used to have -- we'd have the TWA employees, uh, participate with it and, you know, I just, you know, helped with some of everything but, uh.

MELL: What about moving into the future? What do you think of, uh, what do you think is going to happened with the unions and the young kids coming in and...

McREYNOLDS: I -- I don't know. It really seems as if the young kids are going backwards instead of forward. They now seem to think that they are owed something and, you know, they don't want to work for it anymore. They want you to give it to them. And with that attitude it's just, ah, a road to disaster but, uh, hopefully the union can convince enough people and show them what you can do with the right attitude and maybe we can change -- because these people 00:55:00going around and like one of the worst things is these, uh, tattoos right now. You getting these people getting all these tattoos in the face and studs and all this stuff and then they go up to an employee -- an employer -- and don't understand why the employer won't -- will not hire them. Well, the way some of them look, I don't blame them. I wouldn't hire them either, you know. But these -- this younger generation just feel, hey, I have right to look whatever way I want to look. And you -- you do have that right, but you pay for that right and that's what they don't understand. That they are going to have to pay for that right to look that way.

MELL: Mmm-hmm. That's true. Um. Do you, uh, do any activities or would you be willing to be called upon as a retiree to hold, say, a class or something to maybe educate the younger people on -- at the advantages, benefits of unions?

McREYNOLDS: Sure. I would do that anytime and, uh, like right now with the retirees club we have at our local, we try and talk to anyone that will listen to us. You know, we go and try and but it's not many people want to hear what you have to say. But -- but what you are saying is a good thing. If you could get -- and that's something the schools should look into because you have a lot of retired people that's just looking for something to do. All they need to do is somebody to ask them. And if a school will go out and ask, "Hey, will 00:57:00you come," -- but the thing is, the school is not going to do it and the people are not going to -- so we got to find somebody that is going to go in there and work it out between, you know, the school board and other people and get the job going. But, hey, that's, I think is the only way you're going to change things is when people see what -- what the union have done for people.

MELL: Mmm-hmm. The history.

McREYNOLDS: Right.

MELL: See the history of it all.

McREYNOLDS: History is -- that's why I'm so concerned about the history now because that's the only thing that's going to wake people up, when they see.

MELL: Mmm-hmm. And so now you're working on this history of your local project and the union project and where do you hope that it will go?

McREYNOLDS: Well, we -- we're starting a thing where we're trying to get the younger workers involved from the beginning. If -- if you can get involved at the beginning, then you will see the advantages and you will see where the changes are and all and that's what I hope we are setting a -- we hope to have a -- a little department down there at the -- at the local lodge where we have all this history where people can see what's going on and hopefully, you know, you get schools to bring people in there or Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or whatever to bring -- bring them through and, and see, you know. And, uh, and 00:59:00hopefully that will work but, you now, something got to work sooner or later because right now things are going down. The union membership is going down every year. It's getting to be less and less and that's not a good sign. The best sign, you know, when you got a strong union, you got a strong company and I don't understand why these companies don't understand that but they don't worry about a strong company. All they worry about how much can you make for me today.

MELL: Mmm-hmm.

McREYNOLDS: They don't worry about tomorrow. When I came in, it was -- it was 01:00:00like a badge of honor to have time. Longevity was a thing. You hardly ever hear of -- of longevity anymore, you know. People work -- they be on the job five years now and they think they've been there forever. I mean, when we, you know, I been -- I went on the job in, like I say in '66, I last worked in '98 is the last -- September 31st, 1998 was the last day I worked but, you know, I still would have been working if I hadn't hurt -- hurt myself, you know. But the doctor said, "Now," you know, "if you can tear this back that easy, doing it here in therapy (inaudible) you can't go back," you know, so... Yup.

MELL: Well, thank you. Is there anything else that I've missed or any other stories?

McREYNOLDS: No, I don't think so. And I thank you. I think you did a very good job there and --

MELL: Thank you.

McREYNOLDS: -- I appreciate it very much.

MELL: Well, good. OK.