Keeping his job in a wave of firings
Pharis remembers in instance when a new supervisor at a mill in Reidsville, North Carolina, fired everyone at the mill but him and gave him a raise.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with James Pharis, July 24, 1977. Interview H-0038. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
So your first job was over here in Reidsville, you said, as a
supervisor?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
The first job was supervisor in Reidsville.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
And that was with Burlington Industries?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
Burlington Industries. I never will forget it. When I went to work with
them, the job was right on the bottom. Terrible. I'd work one
week and when I went in on the following Monday after I'd
work one week, and when I drove up (I'd drive in from Spray
over there) all the employees stayed in the little old drink stand
across from the mill. When they'd see me coming in, I went
over and stayed with them until it was time to go into the mill. They
said, "What you doing over here?" I says, "I
got to work. Why?" They says, "Well, they done fired
everyone of you all. Didn't you know that?" I said,
"No, I hadn't heard anything about that."
Well, I was thinking to myself, "Well now what?" So I
didn't go into the mill. I went to the superintendents office
and there was a new superintendent. I told him, "They told me
everybody's fired except me. If I'm fired I
don't want to walk up there and have to get my coat on and
walk out. Just tell me now and I won't go in there."
And he says, "No you're all right. Just go
ahead." And they came around about an hour or two later and
told me I was getting a raise.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
This is the first week?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
The second week. Told me they was giving me a raise. I was thinking to
myself, "By golly, I must be all right
[Laughter]
Fired everybody but me and give me a raise.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
Did they hire all these new supervisors…
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
All new supervisors come in.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
All at one time?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
All except me. I was there one week. Maybe it was two weeks, either one
or two weeks.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
Do you have any idea why they did that?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
Well, one reason was the job was in such a bad shape. They just wanted to
try a new crowd, a new bunch in there.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
Now what do you mean, "It was in such a bad shape?"
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
Seconds about fifty percent seconds. About half
of the products come out of there were seconds. And they just wanted to
make a change and they made it totally all except me.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
How did you manage to get that job in the first place?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
The supervisor from… the first shift supervisor over there, he
had worked at a place I had worked at before he got to be
supervisor.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
So he had worked at Spray?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
He knew me, yes. He come over and asked me if I'd be
interested in the second hand job in Reidsville. I told him
I'd check with him on it. They hired me.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
As second hand?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
As second hand.
- CLIFF KUHN:
-
On which shift?
- JAMES PHARIS:
-
On second shift.