Documenting the American South: Oral Histories of the American South

Collections >> Oral Histories of the American South >> Interview >> Excerpt

Excerpt from

Oral History Interview with Junie Edna Kaylor Aaron, December 12, 1979. Interview H-0106. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)

See Entire Interview >>

Dissatisfied workers walked out, but never with a union

Frustrated workers would walk out of their jobs from time to time, Aaron recalls, but never as part of an organized strike. When their bosses pushed workers to produce gloves more quickly, workers did their best to meet new quotas rather than deliberately slowing down the pace of their work.

About this Excerpt • Citing this Excerpt • Full Text of the Excerpt

About this Excerpt

Interviewer	Jacquelyn Hall
Interviewee	Junie Edna Kaylor Aaron
Excerpt Length	0:02:45
Start Time	00:53:02
Stop Time	00:55:47
Subjects	Piedmont Industrialization > WORK > Employer - Employee Relations Piedmont Industrialization > UNIONS AND WORKPLACE ADVOCACY > Non-Union Advocacy: Individual

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Junie Edna Kaylor Aaron, December 12, 1979. Interview H-0106. 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

JACQUELYN HALL:: Do you remember any strikes at the furniture mill or the glove mill during the time that you were there?
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: I don't think they ever had any strike as I know of at the glove mill. Some of them would kind of get upset and walk out once in a while, but I don't think there was ever any strikes. [Laughter]
JACQUELYN HALL:: You mean these people would get up …
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: No, just wander.() Some of the times they didn't get along on their job or didn't get along with their bossman. Sometimes they'd walk out, but they never had any strikes as I know of. They didn't at the glove mill where I worked.
JACQUELYN HALL:: What would happen when people would get mad and walk out?
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: They'd just go somewhere else and get them a job, or get over it and come back. [Laughter]
JACQUELYN HALL:: Did people ever have complaints? For example, when they started raising production, did people complain about that and try to …
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: Sometimes they would, yes.
JACQUELYN HALL:: What would they do if they wanted to complain?
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: They'd just … [END OF TAPE 1, SIDE B] [TAPE 2, SIDE A] [START OF TAPE 2, SIDE A]
JACQUELYN HALL:: Did people have any other kinds of complaints?
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: I don't know. I was …
JACQUELYN HALL:: When they started raising production, did people ever deliberately refuse to work quite so fast, everybody just agree to keep production down to some low …
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: No, not as I know of. They just tried to do what they could, their part, and tried to make production, and I don't think that any of them ever slowed down any to hold production back.
JACQUELYN HALL:: Were some people much faster than others?
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: Yes, there's some lots faster than others. I never was real fast. Some are faster, and some are better sewers than others. Some make better gloves than others. And it's just that way in everything, the same way in the hosiery mill. Some does better work than others.
JACQUELYN HALL:: Did you make good gloves?
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: I don't want to brag on myself, but they always said I did.
JACQUELYN HALL:: You weren't real fast.
JUNIE EDNA KAYLOR AARON:: No, I wasn't real fast, but I always wanted to make them right. I wanted them beautiful.